


i don't care who you are (or where you come from)

by riverdalenerdlol



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: All The Boys are interested after that, Angst, Betty and Veronica have been best friends for a long time, Betty has a glow up over the summer one year, Betty is a seeker, Betty's super nice to everyone, Charles (Smith) is a Cooper because I can, Charles and Polly Cooper aren't much better, EVERYONE loves quidditch, Everyone loves quidditch here, F/F, F/M, FP's a drunk, Friendship Angst, Gladys is the good parent this time, Gryffindor Betty Cooper, He's into Betty and Betty only, He's not into girls or boys, I'll add others as I go along, Jason's an older brother to Cheryl and not her twin, Jughead is bullied, Jughead's a chaser, Loss of Virginity, Lots of quidditch talk, Magical stuffs, Moose goes along with it because he's muggleborn and he doesn't know what he's getting into, Mutual Pining, Neither of the Cooper parents are any good, Post Second Wizarding War, Ravenclaw Jughead Jones, Reggie bullies Jughead, Reggie's rude to everyone that doesn't agree with him, Romantic Angst, Slow Burn, Tasteful Smut, There's a whole lotta angst, Verbal Abuse, a hint of physical abuse, a lot of fluff too, an instance of sharing a bed, and I mean it this time, and there may be some smut eventually, betty and cheryl are cousins, but I chose Hoggy Hoggy Hogwarts, but Jughead's been interested the entire time, but it's slowburn so be patient, except maybe Dilton and Ethel, he's also rude to anyone that doesn't fear him, it's a rollercoaster, it's as slow as a rotisserie, it's really a huge problem, it's very soft smutty things, maybe a drizzle of self harm if I'm feeling spicy, meet cute, mentions of parental abuse, mutual pining is all up in here, normal stuff you'd expect when you're in the wizarding world, prevalent social hierarchy among wizarding families, reggie's a jerk, self doubt, strangers to friends to strangers to friends to avoiding each other to friends to lovers, there's a Romeo and Juliet theme in here somewhere, there's enough tropes to fill the room of requirement, this is just off the top of my head, this plot is so cliched that it could literally happen in any setting, voldy is dead as a doornail
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2020-07-30 08:29:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 56,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20094301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riverdalenerdlol/pseuds/riverdalenerdlol
Summary: The Jones family was once a respected, wealthy family in the wizarding world. That was until evidence was found that Forsythe Pendleton Jones I, a long dead Death Eater, had some not-so-legal transactions. All of the wealth inherited from Jughead's grandfather was confiscated by the Ministry of Magic. Jughead's only escape from his home of horrors is to get to Hogwarts. FP II wants him in Slytherin to uphold the family tradition. Jughead doesn't want to be like his dad.Elizabeth Cooper, younger daughter of Alice and Hal Cooper, has been taught from a young age that her family has only been sorted in Slytherin. Her mom, dad, sister. Her cousins, the Blossoms, are the same way. Her mom is related to the Malfoys, her father to the Weasleys. Her parents would be pleased with nothing more than Elizabeth being sorted a Slytherin and getting on the quidditch team. But Betty Cooper isn't like her family.What happens when a girl from a rich, strict family is sorted a Gryffindor? A boy from a besmirched family, Ravenclaw? Two misfits of their respective families meet in front of the Room of Requirement. What could go wrong? Everything. Absolutely everything.6TH BFFAs - NOMINEE FANTASY/SCI-FI/UNDER THE RADAR





	1. jones luck

He vividly remembered the night of his fifth birthday party and the starched robes and collars he used to wear. His hair had been gelled enough to resemble something neat and classy, even though a few ebony hairs would find their way out. His baby sister wore a dress made to the nines by wizard tailors that had fought tooth and nail to fit the little girl. He remembered how he had been trained to stand next to his father, matching coats and ties, greeting guests as they entered the manor. He was his charming little self, a smile on his face. 

They were a wealthy family, not so much as the Coopers, Blossoms, and Lodges, but they were quite well off. Even so, they had more than the Mantles, the founders of Maple Racing Broom Incorporated, and the Claytons (the young patriarch played for England in the recent Quidditch World Cup), and those two families were purebloods! 

The Jones family had a mixed bloodline. They married whoever they could to pass on the Jones name. That five year-old boy was a half-blood and so was his little sister, but nobody cared because they were the inheritors to the Jones fortune. 

Oh _ Merlin, _ how that all went to shit in the blink of an eye. 

Aurors had crashed his birthday party that night, sending pureblood guests scurrying for the hills and Disapparating like madmen. Their manor was ransacked as he, his mother, and his baby sister were huddled up in his father’s study. He was waiting for his father, the man that most resembled him, to come back and say that everything was fine, that it had all been a prank, that he could finally cut his birthday cake. 

How laughable that would have been. 

The aurors raided the Jones Manor, looking for anything incriminating. To the Jones’ chagrin, they did find what they wanted: a detailed journal from a man, long dead, and with the five year old boy’s same name. It had been Forsythe Pendleton Jones Senior. 

As later revealed in news clippings from _ The Daily Prophet, _ Forsythe Jones I had been a Death Eater when the Second Wizarding War came around. Sure, he had been one of the older followers of Voldemort, but nevertheless, he was there. It was discovered that most of the luxuries that the Jones family could afford came from illegal transactions with Death Eaters in the Second Wizarding War. They were shocked at the illegal transactions, not the Death Eater part. 

The Jones family was a Slytherin-prominent family. Many members of the once noble bloodline turned to Voldemort during the First and Second Wizarding Wars (these were people that everyone knew had sided with the Dark Lord, but there hadn’t been any sort of physical proof to back it up), just like the Blossoms. The Blossoms had sided with Voldemort during both wars as well, but they never got caught for anything: they had too large a foothold in the Ministry of Magic (which reminded many of the Malfoys) for anyone to even think about saying anything. 

The Blossoms’ cousins, the Coopers, had once been part of the same bloodline. When the Blossoms sided with Voldemort, the Coopers split off and took their portion of the Blossom fortune with them, continuing the pureblood line but without supporting the Dark Lord. The Coopers were eventually able to reconcile with the Blossoms, and there had been no bad blood about the situation. They were family, after all. 

With the Lodges’ recent move to France, the main wealthy Slytherin bloodlines were held in the names of Cooper, Blossom, and Jones. But when the aurors crashed the party at their manor, the Joneses fell from their shiny pedestal.

The Jones fortune was taken along with all that they inherited from Forsythe Jones I, which was approximately 90% of their wealth. The family of four was left without much and their name had become disgraced in the wizarding world. They had been well off before then, but they were now almost dirt poor. They were left without a house, many of their valuable baubles, their memberships… All of their possessions, besides the clothes and a few other items they could take with them, had been confiscated by the Ministry of Magic. 

The original Forsythe hadn’t been quite truthful about his holdings in the past, and it was now biting his descendents in the ass. The Joneses, now homeless, went to live in a small wizard trailer park in the Scottish Highlands, Sunnyside Trailer Park. FP Jones had found help in some mixed blood, Slytherin-prominent families that lived there: the Fogartys, DeSantoses, Topazes, and the Peabodys. 

FP couldn’t hold a job. He was a drunk after the aurors had their way with their possessions, consuming firewhiskey, mead, Muggle beer, whatever he could get his hands on. Gladys was forced to get a job as a healer at a local wizarding hospital. She wasn’t paid much, but it was enough to feed her daughter and son. 

That five year-old boy had decided, after his father had become a drunk, that he and his baby sister, Forsythia, shouldn’t have to share the family name. He only referred to himself as Jughead, and his little sister became Jellybean. When his mom was at work, Jughead was teaching himself how to read, write, and do basic math. 

He was a very bright child, and he took care of his sister when his mother wasn’t home. He taught Jellybean how to read and write when she was old enough. 

On the morning of his eleventh birthday, Jughead woke up to an owl tapping against his window, begging to be let in. He was angry when he realized what day it was: he hated his birthday more than anything else in the world. It was the one day where his mother would try to pretend that everything was normal, specifically acting as if his dad weren’t a drunk, and his father acted the same as he always did. His birthday hadn’t ever been anything to smile about since he had turned five and aurors took everything he’d ever known. October 2nd sucked, if you asked Jughead Jones. 

Still frustrated that the owl had woken him, Jughead got up, rubbing his eyes as he walked to the window and opened it. The barn owl swooped in and perched on Jughead’s dresser, extending the parchment envelope towards the boy. Jughead walked over, taking the letter. As soon as the parchment was gone from the bird’s beak, it swooped out the window again. 

Jughead rolled his eyes and pushed back his messy, unruly hair as he shut the window again. 

“Owls,” he muttered to himself, picking at the purple wax seal with a coat of arms and a large H. When he realized what the letter could actually be, he flipped it over and saw it addressed in emerald green: _ Mr. F.P. Jones III. _

Jughead rolled his eyes again at that. He didn’t like being called his father’s name, especially not his father’s nickname. _ Forsythe _ was bad enough, but to be called _ FP… _ that was asking for a black eye. 

_ Who would be writing to me?… Especially with that address? _ Jughead asked himself. He flipped the letter over once more, breaking the seal and pulling the folded piece of parchment out. He read the entire thing once, twice, three times before he barged out of his room, with the parchment still in his hand. 

“Mom!” he yelled, feeling excited on his birthday for the first time in six years, waving the parchment in the air. “Mom, look what I’ve--” 

“Keep it down, boy,” his father interrupted over his breakfast. “What could be so important?” And just like that, Jughead’s mood was subdued. The light in his blue eyes faded quickly as he turned towards his mother. 

Gladys looked up from the stove, where she was making eggs and toast. 

“Happy birthday, Jughead!” she said with a smile. Jughead didn’t acknowledge his mother’s sentiment. He hated his birthday. “What do you have there?” 

“I got a letter,” he told her, almost monotone after his father’s outburst. “From Hogwarts.” Jughead handed the parchment to his mom, who then read the letter over a few times. He noticed how his father seemed to perk up at that while Jughead sat himself in a chair at the kitchen table. 

“Hogwarts, eh?” FP asked, taking a sip of coffee, no doubt spiked with scotch. “You better be a Slytherin.” 

“FP, no need to pressure him,” Gladys said nicely. 

“He’s a Jones. He’s gotta be a Slytherin or he’s not a Jones,” his father grumbled, waving his fork around. Gladys ignored him, looking at her son again. 

“I’m very proud of you, Jug,” she said. “We’ll go shopping in Diagon Alley next weekend for all of these school supplies you’ll need.” Gladys set a plate of food in front of him: eggs, toast, and...

“Bacon?” Jughead asked, looking up at his mom. Gladys nodded with a smile. “For me?” 

“Just for you,” she replied, ruffling the inky hair on his head that he hadn’t yet covered with his hat. “Happy birthday, Jug.” She kissed his cheek before returning to the pan of eggs on the stove, making Jellybean’s breakfast. 

“Psst. Boy,” FP said, grabbing his son’s attention. Jughead looked over at his father. “You’re our one chance to get on the straight and narrow, boy,” he told Jughead. “Get into Slytherin, get on the quidditch team, and do something with whatever talent you have.” 

Jughead had always liked quidditch. He’d been playing club quidditch with some of the richer kids in Great Britain before everything had gone to ruins. With their new lifestyle, Jughead hadn’t really had the chance to get back on a broom. He’d been a pretty good chaser when he was four, if he could say so himself, but that was years ago. He _ would _ be playing with the other kids in the trailer park if he didn’t already know that Sweet Pea, Fangs, and Joaquin liked to play by their own rules. 

Jughead was thrown back into reality when Jellybean, her dirty blonde hair in little pigtails, came and gave him a tight hug. 

“Happy birthday, Juggie!” she said. Jughead simply smiled down at his little sister, hugging her back. 

“Never change, Jelly,” he whispered, looking into her big, blue eyes. “Never change.” 

When he checked his pocket later, he found a chocolate frog, even though it contained a card he already had. It was one of the better birthdays he had over the years. 

**\---**

Because of their low family income, Gladys had to put off Jughead’s shopping trip to the first weekend in August, just about ten months later and only a month before he was to board the Hogwarts Express. They were barely able to afford everything he needed, but Jughead pitched in a bit of money that he’d saved over the years too. 

Out of everything, the wand was what Jughead was most excited about getting. With his current home situation, Jughead often wasn’t too excitable except by his favorite Muggle burgers from the diner down the street. With the mother-son shopping trip, Jughead finally had something to be happy about as he walked through the door of Ollivander and Andrews: Makers of Fine Wands. 

Mr. Ollivander had passed a few years after the Second Wizarding War was over, but he’d found a partner in Fred Andrews, the man that was the current owner of the shop. The Andrews family wasn’t one of the major pureblood families, but they were respectable, courteous, and kind. They’d made their way into exclusive pureblood circles because of their reputation for being good people. Jughead found that Mr. Andrews’ kind smile was infectious. 

“Gladys?” he asked from behind his desk. “Gladys Jones?” 

“Well, if it isn’t ol’ Freddy Andrews,” Gladys replied as they let the door shut behind them. “How’s business?” 

“Fine, especially these days,” he said. “Here for a wand for your son?” 

“Yes, in fact. This is Jughead, I’m sure you remember him from when he was smaller.” 

Fred looked over to the slim eleven year-old with onyx hair and a grey beanie, smiling. 

“You look just like your dad did when he was your age,” Fred said, holding out his hand for Jughead to shake. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, but you’ve shot up, by Merlin.” 

“Nice to meet you,” Jughead replied, shaking the man’s hand. 

“The pleasure’s all mine. Now let’s get you set up with a wand.” 

While Mr. Andrews found potential wands for him to try, he explained that his own son would be attending Hogwarts beginning next September as well. Archie, Jughead thought he called his son, had gotten his wand only a week ago. 

After introductions, Mr. Andrews began pulling out wands for him to try. Jughead tried wand after wand after wand until he came upon a special one… 

“Ebony wood, dragon heartstring… 11 ¼ inches,” Fred began. “And rigid.” He placed the wand in Jughead’s hand and a few golden and red sparks shot out of the tip, lighting up the dark shop. 

“Woah,” Jughead muttered, feeling the weight of the wand in his hand. 

“That one likes you,” Fred replied. “A perfect match.” 

Later, after getting all of his mandatory supplies, Jughead had enough money left over to get a small owl from Eeylops Owl Emporium. As he and his mom were in line to buy the small snowy owl, Jughead peered ahead and saw two blonde girls and a blonde boy with their parents. The boy was the tallest, almost reaching the height of his father. One of the two girls was taller and looked tired of being there, a headband keeping her hair out of her face. The shorter girl was barely tall enough to push herself on her toes and see what was on the counter, a pink ribbon holding her blonde hair up in a ponytail. Her parents were in the process of paying for a younger, tan tabby cat. 

“Have you thought of a name for the cat, miss?” the cashier asked as he ran the transaction. The little girl looked pensive for a moment, then answered in a cheery voice. 

“Caramel!” she replied happily. Her parents didn’t seem to like that, but they went with it. Before Jughead could get another glimpse at the girl, her parents had taken her by the hand and ushered her, her brother, and her sister out of the store. 

When he got to the counter with his mom to buy his owl and the cashier asked what he was going to name him, Jughead had already thought about it. 

“Hot Dog.” His mom looked at him curiously. Jughead added: “He looks like he likes hot dogs.” (And he did like to eat hot dogs, as Jughead and the Joneses found out). 

Jughead did more reading than he would have liked to admit in the days leading up to September 1st. He scoured through his gently used textbooks, reading about whatever was in them. Often times, Jellybean would want to listen in, so he read to her too. He read about potions, wizarding history, Hogwarts, quidditch, wand lore… Jughead read almost too much about wand lore. 

He was very interested in all of the different combinations there were: the possibilities were infinite. He read about all of the woods they could be made of, the cores that powered them from the inside, and the history of wand-making. He read to Jellybean about it and she seemed intrigued for only being six years old, but nevertheless. He didn’t think his textbooks would be interesting, but they absolutely were. He couldn’t wait to get started at Hogwarts. 

Jughead woke the day before he was supposed to leave for Hogwarts, startled awake by yelling. Sincerely hoping his parents weren’t arguing again, Jughead got out of bed and put on his knit grey beanie, cut to look like a crown (it had been meant for a Halloween costume when he was eight, but it stuck with him). He cracked open his door, peering out. He heard a chittering and the gravelly voice of his father, angry at something. When Jughead opened his bedroom door all the way, he saw his father yelling at… 

“Hot Dog?” Jughead whispered to himself. 

“Shut the bloody hell up, you son of a banshee!” FP shouted at the small snowy owl as he cowered in his cage. “Good Merlin, you’re annoying!” Jughead noted the obvious bottle of cheap Muggle beer in his father’s grasp, and put two and two together. He bolted out of his room and towards his dad and owl. 

“Leave him alone, dad!” Jughead said. “He just wants food!” He tried to shove his father away from Hot Dog, but FP shoved back. Jughead hit the floor face first and scrambled back a little when he got his bearings again. 

“Listen here, boy,” FP almost slurred, his spit hitting Jughead in the face. “You get that dumb bird to shut up or _ I’ll _ make it shut up, got it?” 

“But, dad--” 

_ “Do you understand, _ boy?!” FP yelled, pointing a finger at his son on the floor. Jughead nodded quickly. “Good. Now get the bloody thing away from me before I make a pie out of it.” FP blew them off with a wave of his hand and Jughead took that as an excuse to get the hell away with Hot Dog. He grabbed the cage and scurried back into his room with it. 

Jughead placed Hot Dog’s cage on his dresser and opened the cage’s door. 

“Here you go, bud,” he whispered. “You probably need to stretch your wings.” Hot Dog hooted softly and pecked at Jughead’s hand. 

“Ouch,” he muttered. “Yeah, I’ve got some food too.” Jughead pulled out a few owl treats he’d splurged on when he was at Diagon Alley a few weeks back. Hot Dog took them gratefully as Jughead smoothed out the white feathers on his head. When he was done, Hot Dog hooted again. 

“Yeah, I can’t wait to get the hell out of here, either,” he mumbled, speaking to himself. 

**\---**

The next day, Gladys and Jellybean took Jughead to the London train station, helping him push his trolley (well… Jellybean had gotten tired of helping push early and was instead sitting on the front, making sure her mom and brother wouldn’t hit anything). They looked quite the spectacle with Hot Dog’s cage on top of the Hogwarts trunk and everything. Gladys steered them to the right barrier to get onto platform 9 ¾, just between Muggle platforms 9 and 10. 

As they walked, Jughead remembered the conversation his father had with him, informing him about the major wizarding families, including Slytherin-heavy Cooper, Lodge, and Blossom lines, as well as minor Clayton, Peabody, Topaz, Fogarty, and DeSantos (the last four were notably mixed blood). An Andrews or a Mantle were likely to be Gryffindors, Doiley a Ravenclaw, and Keller a Hufflepuff. Jughead wasn’t truly listening to his father rant over his cereal, but he had to listen to it nevertheless. 

“Alright, Jug,” Gladys began quietly, snapping her son out of his headspace. “When I say so, we’re going to go towards that barrier.” 

“But it’s solid brick!” he whispered back, seeing the divider. 

“Trust me, Jughead. We’ll need to do it at a bit of a run, too,” she replied. 

Jughead thought his mother was out of her mind. 

“D’you need to go to Mungo’s?” he asked seriously. 

“Just trust me, kid,” she said, looking around. When nobody seemed to be watching, she told him: “Now.” 

They started pushing the trolley at a light run, speeding towards the brick in the middle. 

_ We’re gonna crash, we’re gonna crash, we’re gonna crash… _ Jughead thought as he ran, shutting his eyes forcefully… but the impact never came. When they stopped, he opened his eyes. His mouth was suddenly agape as he saw the scarlet train engine: **HOGWARTS EXPRESS**, the train read in bold, golden letters. 

“Merlin,” he said, unable to find the right words. 

“Here we are,” Gladys said. “Let’s get you settled, huh?” Jughead was only able to nod as they pushed the trolley towards an open door on the train. He watched as his mom enchanted his luggage, flying his things over to be loaded with everyone else’s. After that, Jughead slid his backpack on (that held whatever he needed for the trip up to Hogwarts). 

“Well I guess that’s it,” he sighed. 

“I love you, Jug,” his mom said, bringing her eldest in for a hug. Jughead hugged back. 

“Love you too, mom,” he muttered. They pulled back and looked at each other for a moment. 

“I know your dad says you should get into Slytherin tonight but… whatever House you’re placed in tonight is where you’re supposed to be,” Gladys explained. “Hell, if you end up in Hufflepuff by some chance, I’ll still be happy for you, okay?” Jughead smiled. 

“Okay,” he replied. It was then that Jellybean grabbed onto him. 

“Don’t go, Juggie!” she pleaded, hugging him tightly. Jughead comforted her for a moment. 

“I’ll be back, Jelly,” he replied. “It’s not for too long and I’ll be back for Christmas.” 

“Promise?” she asked. 

“Promise.” 

“Okay!” The little girl then stepped back and held her mom’s hand. 

“Bye,” he said with a small wave. 

“See you later, kid,” Gladys replied, motioning for him to get on the train. 

“Byeee Juggieeee!” his little sister squealed. He got a few weird looks for that, but he luckily hadn’t been noticed by too many. 

Right after he hopped on, the doors closed. 

_ Eleven o’clock sharp, _ Jughead thought. As the train began to move, Jughead waved to his sister and mom until they were just specks in the distance and the train had picked up speed. 

It occurred to him then, when he turned to face the inside of the train’s cabin… that he didn’t know a soul on this train besides Sweet Pea, Fangs Fogarty, and Joaquin DeSantos (and they were on the bottom of the list of people he would willingly associate with because they could be jerks). Sighing and keeping his beanie-clad head down, Jughead made his way through the train cabins, trying to find an empty compartment to brood in. 

Jughead had never really gotten along with many people his age. He was okay with adults, like when he met Fred Andrews a few weeks back, but for some reason, he had never been able to really connect with anyone his age. He didn’t have any childhood friends that he remembered from his old life, and he knew he didn’t have any from the trailer park. Unless there was another broody kid in the trailer park, Jughead didn’t think he’d really get along with any kid that lived there besides Jellybean. 

When his shoulder bumped against someone else’s, Jughead was thrown back into reality again. There were older kids everywhere, but what else should he expect in his position at the bottom of the Hogwarts food chain? He passed teenagers talking about quidditch, about classes, professors, gossiping about petty drama… they were basically doing whatever they wanted. There seemed little to no supervision besides the one prefect he passed (and he only knew the kid was a prefect because he was talking about how he was a prefect and how he’d shined his badge ten too many times for Jughead’s taste). 

Summoning a bit of social courage, he chanced a look up and saw taller kids parting ahead of him. 

_ Merlin’s beard… it’s a stampede, _ he thought to himself, ready to run in the opposite direction. 

Bursting through the crowd were three girls no older than himself, linking arms and taking up space in the narrow walkway. The girl in the middle with bright red hair spoke for all three of them. 

“Out of the way!” she demanded. “Future Slytherins, coming through!” On either side of the ginger were two more girls, one with dark hair like his own, and another with a blonde ponytail tied up with a pink ribbon. They were smiling and giggling as they made their way through the train. 

Before Jughead could process the storm before him, he’d been tripped by one of them (he didn’t know which, he only saw a blur of black, red, and blonde hair) and he faceplanted on the floor of the train. 

“Ugh,” he groaned, trying to pick himself up after a moment. 

“Wait a minute, I’ll be right back,” he heard a small voice announce from behind him, running steps resounding lightly. When Jughead looked up, he saw a small pair of feet in light pink converse before him. The girl attached to them knelt down to look him in the eye. It was the blonde girl. 

Up close, she had doll-like, emerald green eyes and a curious, but attractive, look on her face as she gazed at him. Her soft, pink lips moved, but no sound came out. This was easily the prettiest girl he’d ever seen, even if he was only eleven. 

_ She’s talking to me, _ Jughead thought to himself. 

“I’m sorry, what?” he asked, shaking the haze from his mind. 

“I asked if you need help getting up,” she replied with a giggle. 

“Oh…” he mumbled. “Yes, that’s very nice of you. Thank you.” He was flustered and he could hear it in his own voice, wincing. She must have noticed it too because she giggled again. It was a delightful sound, he internalized as she extended her hands for him to take. Her hands were soft and delicate and warm as she helped him to his feet. 

Jughead brushed himself off, realizing he was about half a head taller than the girl (he was slender and tall, alright). 

“Thanks,” he said. 

“No problem,” she replied, showing off her bright gigawatt smile to him. He noticed then that the sweater she wore matched her shoes and the ribbon in her hair. Her jeans were a light wash and--

“B! Come on!” her friends exclaimed from behind Jughead, snapping him away from his apparent daydreaming. 

“Sorry about that,” she said. “I’ve gotta go. See you around!” And just like that, she skipped away, her blonde ponytail swaying from side to side as she met up with her other two friends. They continued their way down the hall, making older students stumble out of the way in front of them. The older kids seemed to know who they were, but Jughead was left clueless, shrugging his shoulders and moving on. 

Looking back at the ginger’s quite assumptious statement, Jughead could imagine her and the raven-haired girl getting into Slytherin… but the blonde? There was no way she was a Slytherin, Jughead thought. _ Maybe a Hufflepuff. _

After a while of walking through train cabins, Jughead finally found an empty compartment. He stepped inside, sliding the door closed behind him and sitting in the corner. He shrugged his backpack off and let it sit next to him, laying on his leg. He watched the English countryside pass by as he sat in the corner of the graciously quiet compartment. Jughead was about to pull out his used copy of _ Quidditch Through the Ages _ that his mother secretly bought him (read: without his father’s knowledge) as a late birthday present when someone rapped on the window of his compartment door. 

He looked up, seeing a witch with a trolley. She opened the door, peering inside. 

“Anything from the trolley, dear boy?” she asked sweetly, smiling. Jughead glanced over and saw through the windows that she had loads and loads of candy and food. He licked his lips subtly, but remembered that he didn’t have too much extra money. 

“Uh… no thank you,” he replied, lying right through his teeth. He was starving. 

“Excuse me? Two chocolate cauldron cakes and two bottles of pumpkin juice please,” another boy’s voice rang through the air. Jughead looked at the boy in question and saw his fiery red hair and eerily familiar kind smile. He dropped the coins into the witch’s hand and she handed him the drinks and cakes. “Thank you.” 

“My pleasure, dear,” the witch replied, moving on to the next compartment. After she left, Jughead watched as the most ridiculous thing happened: the red-headed boy knocked on his compartment door. 

“Hey…” he greeted as Jughead looked shocked. “You look like you could use some company. I’m Archie. Archie Andrews. Can I sit?” 

_ It’s Fred Andrews’ son, _ Jughead thought to himself. _ That’s why his smile was familiar. _

“Uh… Uh, yeah,” Jughead stumbled through his words, motioning to the bench across from him. “I’m Jughead… Jones.” 

“Nice to meet you,” the boy across from him said, offering a hand for Jughead to shake. “I bought these for you, y’know? I could tell you were hungry. I’ve got plenty of food where I came from. I just wanted a pumpkin juice.” Archie handed Jughead the two cakes and a bottle of juice. 

“Thanks,” he replied shyly, taking the items. 

“I don’t mind. I just wanted to introduce myself, see if we could be friends.” 

“I appreciate that,” Jughead replied, starting to dig into one of the cakes. “Merlin, these are good,” he added, a mouthful of cake as he spoke. Archie laughed. 

“So, where are you from, Jughead?” Archie asked, and just like that, a great friendship was born. 

Jughead and Archie laughed and talked about whatever came to their minds, but mostly quidditch. He learned that Archie’s favorite team was Puddlemere United because their home pitch was near where he lived in the outskirts of London, but Jughead’s favorite was the Montrose Magpies because they were the only good team on his side of the Scottish Highlands. They high fived each other when they learned that they were both chasers when they played club quidditch. They just laughed and talked about whatever came to their minds while Jughead savored his cauldron cakes and bottle of pumpkin juice. 

When Jughead had finally explained the difference between blagging and blatching fouls to Archie (and more importantly, how to _ remember _ the difference), they realized an hour had passed since they’d met… but the only reason they realized was because--

“Yo, Andrews,” someone called out, headed towards the compartment Archie and Jughead were in. The boy, about the same age as them, let himself into the compartment with a bigger boy and a smaller girl behind him. “There you are. Moose here thought you learned to Disapparate or something, the buffoon, but I thought you just got lost. And-- wait, who’s that?” 

“I just ran into Jughead over here,” Archie replied. “Reggie, Moose, Chuck, this is Jughead Jones.” 

Jughead suddenly felt the temperature drop in the room. Whatever was about to happen wouldn’t be good. Archie, oblivious, turned back to Jughead. 

“And I was hoping we’d run into--” 

“Jones?” Reggie interjected. Archie stopped and stood. “As in the _ Forsythe _ kind?” Jughead gulped. 

“Maybe, but what does that matter--” 

“Merlin’s saggy balls!” Reggie exclaimed, looking towards Jughead. “Lookie what we’ve got here! The grandson of a Death Eater!” 

“Reg, stop--” Archie tried to butt in. 

“Why would I stop? We’ve got an actual descendant of _ dragon shit _ in this compartment!” 

“Back off, Reggie,” Archie said sternly, pushing at the boy’s chest. “Let’s go back to our compartment, alright? No need to cause too much trouble this early.” Archie shoved Reggie out and down the hall as Jughead watched from his seat. Archie turned around before he left. 

“I’m sorry about him. He can be a little much,” he apologized. Jughead nodded, his head down. “I don’t care who your family is, for the record,” he added. Jughead looked up, smiling a little. “I’ll see you around, dude. And I hope you make a House quidditch team at some point.” 

“Thanks. You too,” Jughead replied. Archie nodded then went on his way, sliding the compartment door closed. He was left to the weight of the eerie silence again. The only friend he had was friends with people that shamed him for the family he came from. Jughead suddenly thought that going to Hogwarts was going to be a bad thing, that people would judge him based on his family, and not on who he really was. 

But then he decided that he didn’t care. He _ wasn’t _ his father and he _ wasn’t _his grandfather and Jughead knew that he definitely wasn’t a Death Eater, so who gave a bloody damn if Reggie thought he knew everything. He apparently didn’t know anything, just what his parents had told him. Nothing more. If being an outcast was what it took to prove to people that he wasn’t his family before him, then that’s exactly what he would do. 

_And there’s no way that kid Reggie’s anything but a Slytherin._ _Or just a really rude, incompetent Gryffindor, _Jughead thought. _What I’d give to shove a broomstick up his--_

_ Knock knock, _ someone tapped lightly on his compartment door, drawing Jughead out of his thoughts. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but it was enough time for him to get hungry again. The door slid open, revealing the blonde girl that had helped him up earlier, carrying a pink tin lunchbox. 

Leaning against the door’s frame was a taller, similar-looking blonde girl, hissing warnings to who he assumed was her little sister. She was already dressed in her school robes, obviously a Slytherin by the emerald green on her robes. She even hissed like a snake. 

“I swear to Merlin, if Charles finds us he’s gonna tell mom and then we’re toast forever--” 

“Hush, Pol, it’s fine. He’s just a boy,” the girl whispered back, her ponytail swaying with her head. “I’ll be quick.” 

“You better be,” the older girl hissed, keeping watch as her younger sister stepped inside the compartment and towards Jughead. 

“Hi,” she greeted. 

“Hey,” he replied, a little downtrodden. 

“I heard Reggie was giving you a hard time,” she said, looking down at the lunchbox in her hands shyly. “And I’m sorry about my friends knocking you over earlier… so here you go.” She handed the lunchbox to Jughead and he found it surprisingly heavy. “Just some extra food I collected for you. A redheaded boy I passed said you had quite the appetite.” 

Jughead opened the lunchbox, seeing there were a few more chocolate cauldron cakes, some assorted sandwiches, a bottle of ice cold pumpkin juice, and a chocolate frog. He smiled wider than he had at any point in time that day. 

“Wow. Thank you… I didn’t get your--” Jughead looked up and realized that the girl and her sister were gone, the compartment door shut once more. “--name…” he finished, speaking to himself. 

Unwrapping one of the sandwiches, Jughead smiled again, thinking to himself that this girl was definitely a Hufflepuff… and she could have been the nicest person in all of Hogwarts at this rate. She could easily be rivaled by Archie but she would crush him if it were a competition. 

**\---**

A few hours later, Jughead had finished all of the food the mysterious blonde had brought him and he’d added a chocolate frog card to his small collection (he was ecstatic at the Hermione Granger card he found). He had also read all the way through _ Quidditch Through the Ages _ for the… he didn’t know how many times he’d read the book, but _ a lot of times _ was a good estimate. After that, he shut the curtains in his compartment, locked the door, and changed into his Hogwarts robes. He’d briefly forgotten how to tie his tie, but he eventually remembered and was able to get it under the white collar of the shirt he was wearing. For the remainder of the train ride, Jughead sat in his compartment anxiously, nervous for what was going to happen next. He spent a good amount of time fiddling with his wand, looking at it in different angles and feeling the smooth wood in the palms of his hands. He wished he at least had Hot Dog to keep him company, but the small snowy owl was with the rest of the students’ pets. He’d hopefully be able to see the bird later tonight. 

“WE WILL BE REACHING HOGWARTS IN FIVE MINUTES’ TIME,” a voice resounded through the train. “PLEASE LEAVE YOUR LUGGAGE ON THE TRAIN. IT WILL BE TAKEN TO HOGWARTS SEPARATELY.”

The train skidded to a stop five minutes later, almost knocking Jughead out of his seat as he put his backpack in one of the overhead racks. When he caught his balance, he opened his compartment door, pulling his beanie further over his head and joining the flow of students trying to get off the train. He found his wand still in his hand as they were disembarking. He stuck it up his sleeve discreetly, trying to hide it from view in case he wasn’t supposed to have it with him. 

Jughead stepped off onto a dark platform, shivering in the cool night air before looking around and trying to figure out where he was going. Around him, students were bustling back and forth. He didn’t know which direction he should be going until--

“Firs’ years! Firs’ years over here!” Jughead looked up and saw a very large man with more facial hair than he’d ever seen on someone before. He held a lantern up near his face and Jughead saw that the man was older than he put out, his face weathered from all of the years he must have endured. “Firs’ years, follow me!” he called out again. Jughead made a beeline for the large man, eventually coming side to side with him. 

“H’llo there,” he greeted Jughead, one of his large palms on Jughead’s back, ushering him towards the lake. “The name’s Rubeus Hagrid.” Jughead looked up at the man and smiled. “And-- gallopin’ gorgons, are yeh by chance… FP Jones Junior’s boy?” 

“Uh… yeah. That’s me…” Jughead sighed. 

“Yeh look jus’ like ‘im,” Hagrid said. “Don’ tell me yer th’ third.”

“Then I’d be lying, sir.” He paused for a moment. “But I call myself Jughead.” 

“Migh’ be better n’ the alternative.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“Nice t’ meet yeh, Jughead. Go on now, ter the boats.” Hagrid gave him a little shove and Jughead made his way to the bank of the lake. 

Once all of the sixty or so first years had made it to the shore, Hagrid instructed them to get in the small rowboats, each with a lantern hanging off the front of it. Jughead ended up in a boat with three other kids that he didn’t recognize. Two of them looked like twins and the other introduced himself briefly as Kevin. 

The boat ride across the lake was quiet besides the whispers among the students. The view of Hogwarts itself was astounding. From his spot in the boat, Jughead determined that Hogwarts looked like a fortress and a castle at the same time. There was a yellow glow coming from many of the thousands of windows and one large wing looked entirely lit by candles. Jughead presumed that’s where everyone was headed. He was hungry again, cursed with too big a stomach for society’s standards and portion sizes. He hoped the food would be good here for the sake of his sanity. 

The small rowboats soon pulled into a cavern, which Jughead found to be an ornate underground harbor. They all clambered out onto the gravel and pebbles while Jughead tried to orient himself. He figured they must be under the castle. Hagrid led them up some stairs until his fist was pounding on a pair of large oak doors. They opened immediately, presenting a small man with a greying moustache. 

“The firs’ years for yeh, Professor Flitwick,” he announced. 

“Thank you, Professor Hagrid,” the small man said. “I can take it from here.” he swung the door wide, allowing all of the first years to come inside. They followed behind the short man, taking a good look around. The entrance hall was huge. Jughead thought he could fit at least three of the trailers he lived in inside it. To the doorway on his right, Jughead could hear the droning of hundreds of voices. He figured the rest of the school was already there, waiting on them - but Professor Flitwick led them into an empty chamber off the hall. 

The small professor welcomed them to Hogwarts, explaining what the Houses were all about, their names, and a little information on what he called the House Cup and House points. 

“The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school,” he concluded. “Please wait quietly until we are ready for you.” 

When Professor Flitwick left, small chatter broke out between the students. A few were nervous, a few confident, a few queasy… but Jughead was silent. Nothing Hogwarts could have to offer could possibly be worse than being at home with his dad for the next seven years. Except maybe… 

“Yo, there’s a Jones in here,” Jughead heard Reggie say. “Where’d the loser go?” 

Jughead tried to stay as small as possible, his gaze set on the floor. Maybe this would be worse than he thought. 

“Knock it off, Mantle,” he heard someone say in his defense. “Stop being a goblin crotch.” 

“Hey, _ who said that?” _ Reggie asked defensively in response. Jughead chuckled to himself as he looked around a little. He saw the blonde girl huddled next to the red and raven-haired girls she was with earlier, so he looked away again. 

Before Reggie could get an answer to his question, about twenty ghosts flew through the walls, making a lot of the students (mostly the boys, though most would never admit it) scream together. The House ghosts introduced themselves to the students once they all got their bearings. They were all pearly-white and somewhat transparent, gliding around the room to talk to students. The Fat Friar was from Hufflepuff, Nearly Headless Nick from Gryffindor, Helena Ravenclaw from Ravenclaw House, and the Bloody Baron from Slytherin. 

Just as they were about to warn them of Peeves (Jughead didn’t know what a Peeves was but he sure would figure out later), Professor Flitwick told the ghosts to move along and the students to make a line. 

Single file, all of the first years entered the Great Hall, marveling at the wonders inside. It was lit by thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables that the rest of the students were sitting at. All the way in the front was the head table, lined with adults in their robes, looking happy to see all of the first years. Jughead, trying to avoid people’s gaze, looked up and saw the night sky dotted with stars. When he looked down again, he noticed a four-legged stool in front of the head table, a pointed brown wizard’s hat on top of it. 

Eventually the first years came to a stop, the sixty of them grouping up near the front. When everyone was settled, the brown hat started to _ sing. _

Jughead didn’t grasp much of what the hat sang because he was so shocked.

_ "Oh you may not think I'm pretty, _

_ But don't judge on what you see, _

_ I'll eat myself if you can find _

_ A smarter hat than me. _

_ You can keep your bowlers black, _

_ Your top hats sleek and tall, _

_ For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat _

_ And I can cap them all. _

_ There's nothing hidden in your head _

_ The Sorting Hat can't see, _

_ So try me on and I will tell you _

_ Where you ought to be. _

_ You might belong in Gryffindor, _

_ Where dwell the brave at heart, _

_ Their daring, nerve, and chivalry _

_ Set Gryffindors apart; _

_ You might belong in Hufflepuff, _

_ Where they are just and loyal, _

_ Those patient Hufflepuffs are true _

_ And unafraid of toil; _

_ Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, _

_ if you've a ready mind, _

_ Where those of wit and learning, _

_ Will always find their kind; _

_ Or perhaps in Slytherin _

_ You'll make your real friends, _

_ Those cunning folks use any means _

_ To achieve their ends. _

_ So put me on! Don't be afraid! _

_ And don't get in a flap! _

_ You're in safe hands (though I have none) _

_ For I'm a Thinking Cap!" _

After the song, everyone began clapping, so Jughead joined in, still shaken up by the singing hat on a stool. Even knowing the differences between the Houses, he didn’t really know which he’d fit into best… but he knew his father would be disappointed with anything but Slytherin.

_ You’re a Jones. Get into Slytherin, boy. _

Before he had another second to think, Professor Flitwick had unrolled a piece of parchment. 

“When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted,” he told them, standing on his own tall stool. “Andrews, Archibald!” 

Archie climbed up the steps and sat on the stool as Professor Flitwick put the Sorting Hat on his head. It lowered over the boy’s eyes. Archie sat there for a moment as Jughead tried to predict what House he would be in. 

_ Andrews… a Gryffindor? Is that was dad said? _

“GRYFFINDOR!” The hat yelled. All of the students that were in that House stood and cheered as Archie got down, running to greet his new House mates. Gryffindor’s table was in the center on his left from the Great Hall’s entrance. 

The Sorting proceeded on that way. 

“Blossom, Cheryl!” 

It was the red-headed girl that might have tripped him on the train. 

_ Blossom… Definitely Slytherin. _

“SLYTHERIN!” 

The table all the way to the left cheered loudly as Cheryl went to sit with them. 

“Brown, Trevor!” He was one of the twins in the boat with him and Kevin. He didn’t recognize the last name though. 

“HUFFLEPUFF!” The Hufflepuff table was to the far right. 

“Brown, Valerie!” That was his twin sister. 

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

“Button, Benjamin!” Jughead didn’t recognize him, either. He was small, blonde, and shy by the looks of it. 

“RAVENCLAW!” That table was in the middle and to the right. 

“Clayton, Charles!” 

_ Clayton… Slytherin, _ Jughead thought. 

“SLYTHERIN!” 

“Cooper, Elizabeth!” 

The blonde girl made her way up to the stool… but Jughead recognized the pink ribbon in her hair and the name that came with her. 

_ Coopers are Slytherins, _ Jughead thought. _ But she couldn’t possibly be… _

She sat on the stool and the hat was placed on her head, sinking over her eyes. Her hands were in fists as she sat there, bearing her knuckles on the stool. Most everyone before Elizabeth hadn’t taken long for the Sorting Hat to come to a verdict… but she was taking much longer for the hat to decide. 

After a few minutes passed, people began mumbling amongst each other. Kevin leaned over to him. 

“She’s a hatstall, mate,” he whispered. 

“What’s a hatstall?” Jughead asked, noting that Elizabeth was starting to look strained and anxious, a color he hadn’t seen on the girl in the few hours he’d known of her. 

“It’s when the hat takes more than five minutes to decide what House you’re supposed to be in.” 

_ Merlin’s wrinkled pants, _ Jughead thought. _ She must be giving that hat a run for its money. _

“She’s a Cooper,” one of the students in front of him whispered. “She’s bound to go to--” 

“GRYFFINDOR!” the hat shouted, silencing the murmurs and causing the entire Gryffindor table to jump up, cheering. Jughead noticed that after the hat was removed, she looked frazzled, just like anyone else that knew Coopers were Slytherins. Jughead looked over at the Slytherin table and saw Cheryl Blossom, who he now recognized as Elizabeth’s cousin. She was obviously confused, as was the rest of the Slytherin table. The girl that Jughead recognized as her older sister looked away, along with a taller blonde boy (maybe he was their older brother?). They almost looked ashamed. 

Glancing towards the Gryffindor table, he spotted Elizabeth and how she looked a little out of place at first, but Archie had started talking to her. 

_ She’s gonna be just fine with Archie as her friend, _ Jughead thought to himself, facing the front again. The sorting continued as if a huge bombshell hadn’t just been dropped on Hogwarts: a Cooper was a Gryffindor where the rest of her family were Slytherins. 

Jughead continued trying to predict students’ Houses based on their names, even though Elizabeth’s had been quite unexpected. 

“DeSantos, Joaquin!” 

_ Slytherin. _

“SLYTHERIN!” 

“Doiley, Dilton!” 

_ Ravenclaw. _

“RAVENCLAW!” 

“Fogarty, Edward!” 

_ Slytherin. _

“SLYTHERIN!” 

“Jones, Forsythe the Third!” There were a few murmurs when Jughead stepped up to the stool and sat down, but he ignored them, snatching his beanie off his head before the hat could sit there. It lowered over his eyes. And then it spoke to his mind. 

_ This is the third, eh? _ The hat said to him. _ I’ve dealt with two of you before, but what makes _ you _ different? _

_ I’m completely different, _ Jughead thought. 

_ Not your father, eh? I can see that. It’s all in your head, dear boy. I can see you prefer to be called Jughead. _

_ It’s better than Forsythe Pendleton. _

_ I’ll have to agree with you on that one, kid… There’s a lot here. I can see what you mean. You are truly different from your senior. _

_ But if I don’t get into Slytherin-- _

_ You don’t truly fear your father, Jughead. You’ll survive without his approval, without anyone’s approval. But you’ve also got a need to prove yourself different, too. Your father was much like that and-- _

_ I’m serious. I’m different. _

_ You’re smart, you’re original, you’re different. As much as you may want to please your father, it’ll have to be-- _ RAVENCLAW!” 

“I’m not my father,” he whispered to himself with a smile. He could see a few shocked faces in the crowd (mostly from Slytherin House; they had now been starved of two legacy students) as he pulled his beanie over his hair again. They were obviously surprised that a Jones wasn’t put into Slytherin. He was proud of himself as he made it to the Ravenclaw table between the Slytherin and Gryffindor ones. Elizabeth Cooper still looked a little downtrodden across the way, but better than before. 

“Keller, Kevin!” Professor Flitwick continued. Kevin marched up to the hat and sat on the stool. 

_ Hufflepuff. _

“HUFFLEPUFF!” 

“Klump, Midge!” 

“GRYFFINDOR!” 

“Lodge, Veronica!” 

_ Another Slytherin-heavy family… _

“SLYTHERIN!” 

It was then that Elizabeth Cooper seriously didn’t seem happy to be sorted into Gryffindor. The Lodges weren’t related to the Coopers, but very good friends. Veronica and Elizabeth must be best friends with Cheryl. Jughead didn’t really know too much about what was going on between the three of them, but he knew they seemed close. 

“Mantle, Reginald!” 

_ Ugh, _ Jughead thought. _ Anything but Ravenclaw. He’s supposed to be a Gryffindor anyways. _

“GRYFFINDOR!” Jughead rolled his eyes. He didn’t think Reggie should be anywhere but Slytherin, but he preferred the dragon shitter anywhere away from Ravenclaw. 

“Mason, Marmaduke!” 

“GRYFFINDOR!”

“McCoy, Josephine!” Jughead recognized her name. Her mother must have been Auror Sierra McCoy. 

“HUFFLEPUFF!” 

“Muggs, Ethel!” 

“RAVENCLAW!” 

“Peabody, Jeremy!” 

_ Slytherin. _

“SLYTHERIN!”

“Topaz, Antoinette!” 

_ Her family lives in the trailer park too. Slytherin. _

“RAVENCLAW!” Jughead was kind of shocked by that one, but he didn’t know her well. 

“Valentine, Melody!” 

“HUFFLEPUFF!” the Sorting Hat shouted, finishing with the last student. Beyond the names that Jughead remembered from the Sorting, there were the rest of the sixty first years. 

After singing the school song (that Jughead didn’t know the words to in the slightest), Headmistress McGonagall said a few words and food appeared on the plates in front of them. Jughead’s jaw dropped when he realized he could name food forever and still not name everything in front of him. Chicken, pork, beef, turkey, many different kinds of vegetables in all shapes and forms, pumpkin juice, water, tea, and so much more. Jughead thought he was caught drooling in heaven. 

“Earth to Jones,” Antoinette said beside him, breaking his concentration. 

“Huh?” he asked. 

“Mashed potatoes?” 

“Thanks,” he replied, taking the bowl and shoveling some onto his plate. “I’m Jughead, by the way.” 

“Toni,” she said curtly. “And, fair warning, if you use the name that Flitwick did, I’ll cut you a new one.” 

“I sympathize,” he replied, passing the potatoes down and reaching for the plate of turkey. “If someone called me my dad’s name, I’d flip.” 

“But _ Jughead _ though…?” 

“It’s better,” Jughead assured. “It’s so much better.” 

“I’ll take your word on it then.” They both laughed heartily, beginning to eat the food that was piled on their golden plates. 

“So how’d you get your hair pink?” Jughead asked through a mouthful of potatoes he tried to conceal behind his hand. 

“An older cousin was playing around with his mom’s wand when it shot at me and made my hair turn pink. Haven’t been able to turn it back but I don’t want to, so it all worked out.” 

Jughead was able to choke back his laughter a little, but he and Toni both smiled. 

They became friends quickly, as they had similar origins. They both lived in Sunnyside Trailer Park in the Scottish Highlands under conditions that thankfully weren’t worse than they were. Toni was living with her uncle, that didn’t quite support her bisexuality, but knew he couldn’t throw Toni out on her own (he didn’t need to after she got her letter). Jughead told her about how his father had gone very far downhill after the Jones Manor was raided all those years ago. 

They talked about wanting to try out for quidditch at some point, and Jughead agreed with Toni when she said she thought she’d make a good seeker. She was petite and light; the perfect build for the position. They had the same favorite quidditch team, Jughead discovered, when dessert appeared on the table (and he took a steady helping of that, too): the Montrose Magpies. He also discovered that Toni, too, hadn’t played much quidditch with the boys in the trailer park because of their rules. 

Jughead was _ almost _ full when Headmistress McGonagall had the tables cleared and the room hushed. She made her announcements, mainly that nobody was allowed in the Forbidden Forest, and then sent the students off to bed. Toni, Jughead, and the ten other first years in Ravenclaw were ushered towards the two prefects, a girl and a boy, from their House. Before they could leave, they watched the Gryffindor students go in front of them. Jughead’s eyes locked on Elizabeth Cooper immediately. 

She still didn’t look too happy where she was, but she no longer looked on the verge of tears. She was walking next to Archie, and it was obvious that he was trying to cheer her up, talking about Puddlemere United (Jughead could read his lips). Quidditch talk seemed to lighten her mood a little more, picking her eyes up off the floor. Her bright green eyes looked into Jughead’s for a moment before she was gone up a stairwell with Archie, Reggie, Moose, Midge, and the other Gryffindor first years. 

While the Ravenclaw prefects gave the first years a shortened tour of Hogwarts, they spewed facts about the architecture and the founders as they climbed staircases. Many of Jughead’s fellow students were exhausted from eating so much and then having to climb stairs, but Jughead felt good after finally filling his never-ending stomach. 

Eventually, though, the group came upon a door with a bronze eagle knocker that asked them a riddle. 

“A riddle?” Jughead asked. “And we have to answer the riddle to get inside?” 

“Precisely,” the prefect replied. “It recognizes Ravenclaws, too, so it’s mostly fool proof.”

“What gets wetter and wetter the more it dries?” the knocker asked. 

“A towel,” Jughead said before either of the prefects could think. When the two looked back at him, he rolled his eyes in annoyance. He didn’t like being underestimated. 

“Very well.” The door swung open for them and they entered the Ravenclaw common room. The room was a wide, open, circular space with a domed roof painted blue, small white stars dotting the painted sky. There were bookshelves up the walls, chairs and tables and lamps around the room serving the purpose of study areas. There was a marble statue of who Jughead presumed to be Rowena Ravenclaw standing in the middle of the room. The male prefect snapped Jughead out of his thoughts. 

“Your dormitories are up the stairs. Boys to your left, girls to your right,” he said. “Any questions?” There didn’t seem to be any. “Welcome to Ravenclaw Tower.” 

It was then that the prefects went towards their own rooms and the first years followed the stairs up to theirs. Toni and Jughead waved goodbye to each other, parting at the stairwell. He found the right door, labelled **First Years**. Jughead was followed into the room by Ben, Dilton, and two other boys. They saw the blue curtains and quilts on four-post beds in the circular room. 

Their things had been brought up, placed to the right of their assigned beds. Jughead got the bed closest to the bathroom the five boys were to share. Almost too tired to function, all of them changed out of their robes and into sleepwear, climbing into bed, and falling asleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows. 

**\---**

The next morning wasn’t as great as Jughead thought it was going to be. He got up and got dressed then went down to the Great Hall for breakfast. He sat between Toni and Ben Button, nicely conversing with them as well as Dilton and Ethel. Being placed in Ravenclaw was probably the best thing to happen to Jughead. He was pushing the boundaries and it felt good. 

That was until the owl post came. Hot Dog swooped in from overhead to Jughead’s surprise, coming down to perch on his shoulder. He took the letter from the owl’s beak but Hot Dog stayed there for a minute. 

“Thank you,” Jughead said to him somewhat bluntly, trying to get him to go with the rest of the owls back to the owlery. Hot Dog nipped at Jughead’s cheek. “Hey!” He threw a piece of toast at the owl and he caught it in his beak, flying away with a hoot. 

“Feisty bird you’ve got there, Jones,” Toni teased. Jughead shook his head as he looked up and put his letter to the side, taking a bite of bacon instead. He watched a majestic eagle owl land on Elizabeth Cooper’s shoulder, politely handing her a red envelope. After getting the owl to go away, she stood and ran out of the Great Hall as if she had an explosive in her hand or something. 

“Merlin to Jughead,” Dilton said to him, making Jughead jump. He raised his eyebrows in an unspoken question. “You should probably open that envelope before it opens you, y’know.” He pushed his thick-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose. It was only then that Jughead noticed the letter on the table. 

It was an envelope of bright red parchment. It looked exactly the same as the one that Cooper had gotten from the Gryffindor table. 

“What is it?” Jughead asked, picking it up. The letter was beginning to smoke at the corners. Dilton ducked under the table, putting his fingers into his ears while Ethel and Ben followed his lead. Jughead and Toni shrugged at each other before he opened it. 

Dust shook from the ceiling. Jughead thought Reggie had pranked him for a moment… that it had exploded. How wrong he was. 

** _“JUGHEAD JONES, YOU’RE LUCKY I HAVEN’T MARCHED UP TO HOGWARTS AND PULLED YOU AWAY YET! WE GOT A LETTER FROM MCGONAGALL LAST NIGHT! HOW DARE YOU SHAME YOUR FAMILY BY BEING PLACED IN RAVENCLAW! YOU’RE AN EMBARRASSMENT TO YOUR NAME--”_ **

Jughead wanted to yell back that his _ father _ was the one embarrassing their name by sending… _ whatever this was _ at a time like this and for a reason like this, but nobody would have heard it. The letter was so deafening that the rest of the Great Hall had gone silent, watching the red envelope berate him. 

** _“--AND YOU’VE DISGRACED ME AND YOUR MOTHER BY BEING SORTED THIS WAY. DON’T EXPECT ANY FAVORS, BOY. YOU’RE JUST DIGGING AN EVEN BIGGER HOLE FOR THE REST OF US!”_ **

Jughead watched as the red parchment ripped itself up and left a few pieces charred on the table in front of him. He could see some of the words written in black ink, in his father’s handwriting. He bit the inside of his cheek when everything remained silent in the Great Hall. 

“Just my Jones luck,” he sighed. 

“That was a Howler,” Ben mumbled as he, Dilton, and Ethel came back up to their seats, along with another first year Ravenclaw.

“He was probably drunk, like he always is,” Jughead muttered to Toni while she sat there in awe. He brushed the pieces of paper off of his plate while casual conversation resumed quietly. “It doesn’t matter anyway,” he muttered, looking down at his lap, solemn. “My dad’s ruined breakfast.” He sat there, picking pieces of the ripped parchment off of his robes. “I wasn’t hungry anyways.” 

Toni, still shocked by it all, tried to pull Jughead back by the wrist, but he slipped from her grip as he rose, collected his backpack with his books and materials, and walked out of the Great Hall, his eyes glued to the floor. He was pretty sure that Reggie Mantle tried to make fun of him for it, but Jughead didn’t even care. 

The rest of the day wasn’t the easiest. Toni caught up with Jughead later, copying the Ravenclaw first years’ schedule for him (Professor Flitwick handed them out after he’d left). The Ravenclaws had every class together, but they also had classes with other Houses. They had Charms, Potions, and History of Magic with the Gryffindors, Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, and Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Slytherins for the day. 

Jughead didn’t say much besides whisperings to Toni. He was more focused on all of the new material they were about to learn. Jughead quickly found out that any class with Hufflepuffs was peaceful and productive. Slytherins could get a little chaotic, too, but not so much as the Gryffindors. The three classes with Gryffindors sucked for Jughead because of Reggie Mantle and Moose Mason (even though Jughead knew Moose was just tagging along and that he was a Muggleborn), along with another Gryffindor or two. 

Reggie teased Jughead any chance he got. Moose and two other boys laughed at all of Reggie’s jokes. Jughead ignored them as best as he could but had to hold Toni back once or twice from ripping Mantle a new one. He didn’t care about what Reggie or Moose thought about his home life, Jughead already knew it was shitty. 

Archie, Elizabeth, and a few others seemed to be rolling their eyes at Reggie too, but that didn’t stop him from poking at Jughead in all of the classes they had together. In fact, Archie still seemed to be trying to cheer Elizabeth Cooper up. She didn’t seem to give anyone the light of day unless it was Archie or a professor. 

After every class that Jughead had a class with Gryffindors, the only part he could focus on was trying to go thank Elizabeth properly for everything she’d done for him the day before. Every time he tried to approach her, she scurried off to her next class, Archie right behind her. 

In the blink of an eye, it was dinner time. Jughead hadn’t eaten much that day, not feeling too in the mood, as the Howler had spoiled his day. Toni was still sitting next to him, evidently worried about her new friend. 

“Jug, I know you don’t want to talk and maybe you want to be alone, so let me offer you some advice,” she whispered to him as he picked at the chicken and vegetables on his plate. That seemed to have piqued his interest, as he was now looking at her. 

“What’s up, Toni?” he asked, interested but obviously disappointed at how shitty of a day he was having. 

“I went asking around older students and there’s rumors of a room that’ll change into anything you want it to,” she replied. Jughead blinked twice, the intrigue rising to the surface. “It’s called the Room of Requirement. It’s a hidden room on the seventh floor, in the west corridor. You have to think of what you want the room to hold. You can make it almost whatever you want,” Toni explained. “You have to walk past it three times, thinking of what you want the room to function as. Be specific.” 

“Thank you, Toni,” Jughead said finally. “I might use it later.” 

“Just be careful, okay? We’re already in the lead for House points and if you’re found out of bed--” 

“I’ll be okay, Toni,” he replied. “And I’ll be careful.” 

**\---**

That night, Jughead pretended to do homework until all of the Ravenclaw boys had fallen asleep. Clad in his flannel pants and a t-shirt, Jughead was about to venture into Hogwarts when he realized how cold it was. He grabbed the House sweatshirt every student was gifted with after being sorted. It was grey, had RAVENCLAW lettered across the chest, and the Ravenclaw crest was on the side of one of the sleeves. Jughead then took his wand and creeped out of his room as quiet as possible. 

It was late, he knew that. It was almost 11PM. He crept down the stairs and through the middle of the vacant common room, stopping at the door. He took a deep breath and opened the door quietly, trying not to wake the knocker. When he shut the door behind him, Jughead realized he was successful. 

He made his way through the moonlit castle, only losing his way once before he found himself on the seventh floor corridor. Just as he rounded the corner to be in the west wing, Jughead saw none other than Elizabeth Cooper, pacing in front of a blank expanse of concrete brick in the area that Toni had described, a tan tabby cat watching curiously and mewling softly. 

He couldn’t tell from where he was, but it looked like she was crying, her blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail by the thin, pink ribbon. She was wearing light blue shorts, her grey Gryffindor sweatshirt with scarlet and gold lettering, and the same pink converse as they day before on her feet. She was sniffling and hiccoughing quietly as tears rolled down her face. Evident in her hands was a small, charred piece of red paper. She eventually stopped walking, close to almost breaking down completely. 

Jughead took a careful step forward. 

“Hello?” he asked quietly. She looked up without another word, along with what he assumed was her cat. He noticed the way that her beautiful green eyes were glossed over, even from a distance and even in the dark, moonlit hall. She didn’t flinch when she noticed his presence, so he allowed himself to pad forward carefully. 

“Are you here for the Room of Requirement too?” Jughead asked, approaching the girl. She nodded with a sniffle when he finally stood next to her. “Let me help you. One of my friends taught me how to do this.” Elizabeth nodded and stepped away a little to give him space. 

He remembered what Toni had told him about opening the room, walking by the wall three times and thinking specifically of what he wanted in the room. Eventually, he was able to get the door to appear. Elizabeth gasped a little and he ushered her and her cat inside, shutting the door behind them. She looked at him in awe and picked up her cat while he took in his creation. 

He’d made the room a very comforting place. Books lined the walls, a fireplace on the far wall. Large windows let calming moonlight flood the room. There was a pot of warm chamomile tea, one filled with coffee, and one with hot chocolate. There were two soft armchairs with a small table separating them, several thick and fluffy blankets, soft pillows, and a shag carpet in front of the fireplace. 

“I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced,” he said at last, breaking the silence and getting her to turn towards him. “I’m Jughead.” 

“Betty,” she replied softly, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. “And this is Caramel,” she added, holding the cat up for a moment for emphasis. 

“Well, come on, Betty,” he said. “I hope I can help you feel better than you do right now.” 

She smiled at him, a single tear slipping out of her eye when she tried to laugh. Her cat purred and settled in her hold. 

“Thank you,” she whispered to him, linking a single arm with his and leaning into him. “Is this okay?” she asked. 

“So long as you’re comfortable, Betty.” He began walking them towards the armchairs, seating Betty in one of them. “Chamomile?” 

“Yes, please,” she said softly and with a sniffle, setting Caramel down. Jughead noticed that the cat looked eager to explore the room at first, but then decided it was better off with Betty. She’d crossed her legs in the armchair, allowing Caramel to jump into her lap, curling up in the space she’d created with her legs. 

“I’ll bring some tissues, too.” Jughead could feel her smile searing through his back as he took out a teacup. He poured the tea, placing a saucer under it and taking it back to her along with a box of tissues. 

“Thanks,” she said, taking the cup and saucer, letting the tissues sit on the table separating the two chairs while she took a sip of her tea. 

“I’m going to get some coffee and I’ll be right back.” A moment later, Jughead returned, holding a cup of black coffee with a saucer under it. He seated himself in the armchair beside her, feeling the warmth of the fire. 

“Do you want to be distracted from your situation, or would you rather talk?” Jughead asked softly, trying to take the right approach. 

“I think I’d rather talk,” she replied, Caramel sniffing up at the cup of tea curiously then putting her head back down when she realized what it was. 

“So,” he said after a moment, holding onto his cup and saucer. “What brings you out here at this time of night?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” she replied, smiling a little. “But seriously… my parents sent me a Howler in the mail this morning. I knew exactly what it was going to say, so I ran to the girls’ bathroom and opened it there.” She paused for a moment, Jughead noting that she was probably remembering what her parents had said. “I’m sorry… you’re not here to hear my sob story.” She set her teacup and saucer next to the box of tissues, stroking Caramel’s head gently. 

“No,” he said quickly. “But we have similar situations, apparently… please…” he added. “What did they say?” She sighed before she continued. 

“They went out of their way to inform me that I was the first member of my family in five generations to not be sorted into Slytherin,” she muttered. “They said that I shamed them, that there must have been a mistake… and then they said that I was a mistake, that I was bringing them nothing but disappointment… 

“On top of that, Charles and Polly won’t talk to me--” 

“Who?” Jughead asked. 

“Charles is my brother. He’s a fifth year and a Slytherin prefect. Polly is my sister, a third year. They won’t speak to me because I’m in a rival House or something, or because my parents told them not to.” 

“I’m so sorry, Betty,” Jughead whispered. “That’s seriously terrible.” 

“And besides that, two of my best friends ended up in Slytherin last night. I’ve been best friends with them ever since we were little, and we’ve been waiting to get into Slytherin together since we were five but now…” 

“That dream’s gone for you guys,” Jughead finished. Betty nodded, taking another sip of her tea. 

“But at least I still have Caramel,” she joked quickly before their conversation got back on track. 

“You know you were a hatstall last night?” he asked, trying to change the subject and (hopefully) lighten her mood. Betty nodded again. 

“I could feel that I was holding it all up,” she admitted. “It was a three-way stall.” 

“What Houses?” Jughead asked. 

“Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw.” 

“So… Slytherin wasn’t even in the question for you, was it?” 

“Not really… I kept trying to tell the Sorting Hat that I needed to be in Slytherin, but it kept telling me that I was better off literally anywhere else. I tried for so long, but it eventually said I needed to let it go. It assured me that I was nothing like the rest of my cunning family, so Slytherin wasn’t an option.” 

“I’d hope he would say that to you,” Jughead said out of the blue. Betty looked confused for a moment. “What I mean is that no matter how much you love your family, it seems that you’re better than them. The Sorting Hat didn’t seem to want you to have to associate with your family like that.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she scoffed. 

“All I mean is that your parents sent a Howler, mad about what _ Hogwarts House _ you got into of all things. They could have sent a letter that asked you how you were doing after being separated from your friends,” he said. “Your siblings are either petty or listening to those same parents that caused you to run to the girls’ bathroom this morning to open your Howler from them,” Jughead explained. “Maybe you’re just… a better person than them, y’know?” 

“I guess…” Betty replied. “On top of that, I really don’t feel like a Gryffindor.” 

“They say the hat’s never wrong.” 

“I’m not brave, Jughead,” she said. “I don’t take risks, I’m not daring--” 

“I think you’re braver than you know, Betty,” he replied. “You reached out to me yesterday - twice - after I was down, literally and figuratively.” She blushed and laughed a little. “I’m not surprised your friends are Slytherins and you aren’t, Betty. Out of all three of you, you were the only one to come and help me up afterwards. You brought me a lunchbox full of food after Reggie was out of place…” Jughead noticed that Betty was watching him now, her bright green eyes gazing into his blue ones. “And you’ve survived that family of yours for eleven years. I think that takes enough bravery, Betty. Maybe there’s more of that in there than you know.” She smiled at him. “Plus, you risked House points to find this place. Sounds like a Gryffindor to me.” She giggled. 

“Hey! You did too!” she interjected, laughing a little. 

“Well… touché, Cooper.” They both smiled for a few seconds, relishing in the small dose of happiness. 

“Thank you, Jug,” she said softly. “That means a lot.” 

“I also think that if you can get past this awful Howler your folks sent you… that you’d be a bit feisty, back to your happy-go-lucky self.” 

Betty looked curiously at him and Jughead suddenly felt the urge to backtrack. 

“Uh… what I mean is--” 

“No, it’s okay,” she said, giggling with a hint of blush on her face as Caramel stretched in her lap a little and purred. “Please, indulge me. You think I’m feisty?” 

“I think you could be the type, yes,” Jughead clarified. Betty flushed a little more, the rosiness flooding her cheeks. They both smiled and chuckled a little. Jughead changed the subject. “Well… was there anything else in that letter worth talking about?” 

“My parents said that if I wasn’t going to be in Slytherin, then I should at least get on quidditch so I’m doing something that _ glorifies their name,” _ Betty explained, nearly spitting out the last few words. “The thing is, I wanted to get onto a quidditch team in the first place. Now they’re just spoiling it.” 

“You play quidditch?” Jughead asked hopefully. 

“I _ love _ quidditch, much like everyone else in this school,” Betty replied. “And it’s a ginormous thing in my family. The lot of us are quidditch players, my brother and sister included, a beater and a keeper respectively on the Slytherin team.” 

“Oh, that’s awesome!” Jughead cheered. “What position are you?” 

“I’m a seeker,” she said, smiling again. “Best in my club league five years running.” 

“I’ve always wanted to be a seeker,” Jughead admitted. “But everyone seems to think I’m a little too tall for that.” Even when he was a kid, he had long, lanky legs. He was a stick, almost, but he was tall too. “I’m a chaser.” 

“It’s definitely not easy being a seeker, if you really wanted to know,” Betty replied. “Bludgers are always flying at you, especially if the other team knows you’re good… But the quidditch pitch is the only place I could really escape my family back home,” she said, a hint of sadness in her voice. “I can concentrate easier with my head almost literally in the clouds, even with all of the bludgers. I was kinda pushed into it at first, but I ended up loving it. Besides, when you’re up so high above the pitch, you can’t hear your parents criticizing your broom grip.” 

They both laughed, allowing smiles to slip onto their faces. 

_ This is going to be a good end to a bad day, _ Jughead thought to himself, offering to refill Betty’s teacup. 

**\---**

Conversation flowed quite easily that night with all of the similarities Jughead found between them. They were both quidditch lovers (Betty preferred the Appleby Arrows and the Holyhead Harpies), their parents kinda sucked towards them besides Jughead’s mom, and their parents didn’t seem to approve of where they’d been placed House-wise. They both had animal friends (Jughead told Betty about Hot Dog, his smaller snowy owl, and then Betty told Jughead about how prissy Caramel could be and how she only liked specific foods). 

When Betty was smiling and laughing more than on the verge of tears, Jughead told Betty how he’d gotten a Howler too, but he hadn’t known what a Howler was… so he ended up opening it in the Great Hall that morning. Betty thought that was funny, and for once Jughead saw the humor in the situation, but it was comforting that she definitely understood what he was going through. He hadn’t heard from his mom yet, but he didn’t think that she would share the same sentiments as his father did. 

“I still think I’m better off where I ended up,” Jughead said after a while. “I never really wanted to be in Slytherin. That’s just what my dad wanted. I was kind of nervous about it at first, but I met Toni Topaz, who’s another Ravenclaw, and I met Archie. You’ve met him, right?” 

“Archie’s been really nice to me,” Betty replied, sipping a cup of hot chocolate now. “I don’t think there’s anyone else that’s been as nice as he has until you came along tonight… My cousin, Cheryl, told me about this place.” 

“She’s the red-headed one, right?” Jughead asked. 

“Yeah. We’ve known each other since we were in diapers,” Betty said. “My other best friend coming in is Veronica. She’s got darker hair, but she’s absolutely awesome… and they _ both _ ended up in Slytherin…” 

“So now you feel a little lonely?” Jughead asked. She nodded. 

“But Archie’s really nice. So’s Midge,” Betty added. “But Reggie…” 

“He’s a bit of a blockhead,” Jughead said. Betty nodded again. 

“That’s putting it nicely,” she replied. “He didn’t seem to like that a Cooper was a Gryffindor, even though my family isn’t the one that was connected to the Death Eaters. That’s the _ Blossoms. _ We split from them because we didn’t want to work with… _ you know who _ during the second war,” Betty explained, stroking Caramel’s head. “Somehow I’ll get him to shut up.” 

“I’m sure you will,” Jughead said with a grin. Betty smiled back at him for a moment. Jughead was suddenly flustered with Betty smiling at him like that. “Uh… you know how to play wizard’s chess?” he asked, spotting a board. “We can play if you want.”

“I’d love to,” she replied. They both sat on the shag carpet as Jughead moved the board between them. Betty chose to cover her crossed legs with a fluffy blanket before they started to play, letting Caramel sit next to her. They kept talking the entire time while Caramel looked as if she wanted to get on the board and swipe all of the pieces off. 

“Looking forward to any classes?” Jughead asked, eager to learn anything he could about the mysterious Betty Cooper. “I want to get to third year already so I can take Care of Magical Creatures.” 

“I think I’m most interested in Charms and Defense, mostly,” Betty said, eyeing Caramel to make sure she was behaving herself. “I want to learn spells, I think that’s pretty cool. Potions seems good too with Slughorn… I think I’ll get into any class once I start.” 

“Same here,” Jughead replied. “Flying class should be good too.” 

“Oh, definitely,” Betty said. “I want to get back on a broom. It calms my nerves.” 

“You think we’d play quidditch in flying class by chance?” Jughead asked. 

“Maybe once Madam Hooch thinks we’re capable of handling the basics,” she replied. “Checkmate.” She grinned, sitting back. 

“Merlin, I thought I had that one.” Caramel padded over to Jughead, rubbing herself against Jughead’s arm. 

“I think she likes you,” Betty giggled, smiling at her cat interacting with the boy. Jughead let her sniff his hand before he rubbed her head. 

“I think you’re right,” he replied as Caramel got bored and went back to Betty, curling in her lap once again. 

“Go again?” Betty asked. 

“Why not.” 

Betty and Jughead traded winning back and forth pretty easily, laughing and smiling into the night (even though Caramel’s paw sneakily jabbed at all of Betty’s pieces, throwing them off the board; they had a good laugh at that, deciding to start over). At one point they stopped because the chess pieces seemed to need a break from getting smashed against each other, so they resorted to simply talking again, Caramel sitting between them. 

When the subject of wands came up out of the blue, Jughead began talking about wand lore. For once, someone found it interesting _ with _ him. Betty was fascinated with all of the information he knew of wand woods and cores. He asked to see her wand for a moment, if she had it on her, and she handed it over for him to look at. They sat before the toasty fireplace, warming their bodies as they sat closer to look at Betty’s wand a little better. Caramel then decided that they pair was boring, deciding instead to take a look around the room.

“I think it’s alder wood, but it’s definitely a phoenix feather core,” Betty whispered to him while Jughead inspected it. “Thirteen inches and… what was it? Pliable? I think that’s how Mr. Andrews described it. Pliable.” 

“That’s definitely an interesting combination,” Jughead commented, admiring the detailing in the wood. “But I think it suits you.” 

“Really?”

“The wood definitely tells you more about a witch or wizard than it lets on,” he said, handing Betty her wand back. She put it back where it came from. “Mr. Ollivander wrote a book on wand lore before he passed. You should check it out. They might offer it in the library.” 

“What’s your wand made of?” she asked curiously. Jughead pulled it from his sleeve, handing it to the blonde. 

“Ebony and dragon heartstring, 11 ¼ inches, and rigid,” he listed off the qualities while she noticed the small swirls on the handle. 

“This is a gorgeous wand,” she said. 

“Thank you,” he replied when she handed it back, pushing it back up his sleeve. “I can’t really take credit though, can I? The wand chooses the wizard.” He reclined against his armchair slightly. 

“True,” she replied, sitting back next to him. 

Betty was right next to him now, their legs almost touching each other. They were covered by the same blanket, admiring the same crackling fireplace, even though Caramel had climbed back into Betty’s lap again. Jughead was almost so comfortable with Betty that he could have wrapped an arm around her shoulders if he wanted to, but he didn’t want to push his luck all in one night. 

When he looked over at Betty, he realized that she was still fiddling with that one slip of red paper. He realized it was charred around the edges, like it had been set on fire. 

“What’s that?” Jughead asked, pointing to the piece of paper. 

“It’s uh…” she hesitated. Jughead wanted to backtrack his words again, sorry he’d asked, but he waited for Betty’s answer. “It’s one of the pieces from the Howler my parents sent me… after it blew up, of course,” she said, turning it over in her fingers a little quicker before she showed him the single phrase written on the scrap of parchment. 

_ You’re a disappointment, Elizabeth Cooper. _

Jughead was suddenly enraged at the Coopers. His blood was boiling at a single written phrase on a piece of red parchment meant to degrade Betty for things that were out of her control. So what if she was a Gryffindor? That just meant she tried to be a good person and tried to take the better way through her problems, not the shortcuts when they were convenient. 

“I think you should scrap it,” Jughead whispered, surprisingly calm for how angry he was at her parents. 

“What?” she asked, her green eyes looking up into his blue ones for the thousandth time that night. 

“Betty, your parents aren’t nice people. I know they’re still your parents, but here… at Hogwarts they can’t touch you. You’re from England, right?” Betty nodded just after Caramel went exploring again. “They can’t Apparate up here. You’re safe from them here.” Jughead took her hand without entwining their fingers. “To hell with what they say. You can be your best self here. You can do what you want here. They’ll just have to deal with their feisty, brave, no- dragon-shit-taking daughter for once, hopefully in the right way.” 

Betty was smiling at him now because of his words. Jughead was proud of himself in that moment. He’d managed to make her entire mood do a 180 degree turn with a few sentences. 

“Go on,” Jughead said then, removing his hand from Betty’s with a gentle squeeze and motioning forward. “Throw that piece of paper in the fire.” Betty giggled and smiled a little as she got up. Jughead watched from his spot on the floor as she walked across the stone floor. Her shoes were long forgotten somewhere in the room, revealing her socks: baby blue with small golden snitches dotted on them. She stopped in front of the large fireplace and Jughead locked his eyes on the small piece of red parchment. It fluttered towards the orange flames in front of her, eventually landing on a burning log and crumpling itself into ash. 

They both watched it burn completely before Betty went to sit by Jughead again. They sat in silence for a moment before Betty spoke up. 

“That was extremely cathartic,” she whispered, looking up at him. 

“Yeah,” he muttered. “It was.” 

They watched the logs burn in front of them while they sat in silence, Betty drinking tea again and Jughead with a cup of black coffee. They sat and drank, a fluffy blanket covering their legs, their shoulders touching. It was all so comforting after the day Jughead had, and he hoped it was the same for Betty after all she’d been through. 

“Hey,” Jughead said after a while. It was getting close to 1AM. Betty looked curiously at him again, Caramel sitting by her side. “I wanted to say thanks for the lunchbox on the train,” he whispered. “And for helping me up after I stumbled all over myself.” 

“It was no problem, really,” she replied. 

“No, but seriously, do you want that lunchbox back or-- _ Merlin, that’s hot!” _

Jughead jumped up, setting his coffee cup to the side. He realized he’d spilled some of the scalding liquid on his torso and was now trying to find a napkin or something to absorb the rest of it. 

“Merlin’s beard, Jug, d’you need help with that?” Betty asked after a beat, standing up and putting her teacup down. She was approaching him when he said something else. 

“No, I think I’ve got it now,” he said, wiping his front and blotting the coffee as best he could. “It’s just my Jones luck. I’ll put all this in the laundry later but--” 

“Wait,” Betty said, stopping him. “What did you just say?” 

“This sweatshirt’s gotta go to the laundry?” 

“No, the thing before that,” Betty said, looking as if she could flip if Jughead said something wrong. 

“It’s just my… Jones luck?” Jughead said it as a question, unsure as to how it was important. 

“Oh no,” Betty sighed, backing away. “You’re a Jones?” 

“Yeah… Any other kid in this school named Forsythe?” Jughead muttered. “Why?” 

“Son of a banshee, what have I done?” Betty asked, looking around the room. She found her pink converse and sat in the armchair to put them on immediately. He and Caramel watched Betty curiously. “I’m so sorry, Jughead.” 

“Betty, what--” 

“I’m already on the edge with my parents, I… I can’t be here with you--” She slipped both of the shoes on quickly, then got up and started towards the door, scooping up Caramel in the process. 

“Betty, please--” 

“I can’t go making friends with a Jones,” she said over her shoulder, a hint of remorse in her voice as Jughead followed behind her. She stopped abruptly, Jughead almost crashing into her, before she added: “I’m so sorry. I really wish I could be your friend, but I value my life--” 

Jughead noted that she was almost on the verge of tears again. After the two hours they’d spent together, he imagined Betty would be some sort of upset if they had to part like this. 

“Didn’t we just talk about not caring what our parents say?” Jughead asked. 

“You don’t understand!” she exclaimed, her voice thick and watery with emotions. Her brilliant green eyes turned glassy as she put Caramel down again. “You don’t know what they’ll do, Juggie,” she sobbed, shaking her head. “They’ll kill me. They will actually kill me.” 

“But you’re safe here,” Jughead whispered, stepping forward to take both of her hands in his. “We can be friends…” 

“We really can’t,” she whimpered. “I’m so sorry.” Jughead nodded, keeping his tongue in his cheek as Betty slipped her hands out of his and turned, making for the doorway. Caramel following her while he stood there, watching her go… and then she stopped. 

“Hey, Jughead?” she called to him with a sniffle. He was confused as to why she hadn’t left yet. Caramel was even sitting next to the door. “I really am sorry.” He nodded. “And… I hope you get on your House team at some point,” she said to him. “I know how hard it is in the first year.” Jughead nodded again, hanging onto her every word. “I wish it didn’t have to be this way, really.” 

At her last sentence, Jughead sighed, feeling every ounce of hope for a new friendship vanish. 

“Good luck,” he said anyways. “With everything.” 

Betty let out another (louder, this time) whimper, running to him. She met him in a bone breaking hug, her arms wrapped tightly around his torso. Jughead hugged her back, absorbing as much as he could of her warmth and noticing that she smelled of lavender. It was his new favorite smell in the entire world. 

“Thank you,” she whispered, letting out another sob. “For helping me tonight.” 

Jughead didn’t respond. He only closed his eyes, relishing in the feel of Betty hugging him. 

“Just promise me one thing,” he said weakly. 

“What is it?” She whispered back. 

“If there’s a spot on the Gryffindor team for a seeker… promise you’ll try out.” 

“Jughead—“

“Please, Betty. I want you to be happy. Quidditch makes you happy.” 

“I promise,” she said. “And Jug?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Promise you’ll watch me play if I get on?” 

“Promise.” He held her a little tighter. “If you ever need me, you know where to find me, Betts.” 

He felt her sigh, trying to hold back her tears, though she failed to do so. She didn’t respond as her body shook with silent sobs and she continued to hold onto him. Eventually she calmed down enough to breathe evenly, but she still didn’t say anything. 

At one point, he felt her pull away, the utter warmth leaving with her. She clicked to Caramel and heard as she picked her up. 

When Jughead finally looked up, Betty was gone. He was left standing in the Room of Requirement alone, cursing his last name, his father, and his grandfather. 

**\---**

Somehow, Jughead made it back into Ravenclaw Tower that night. He didn’t remember climbing back into bed, but he was woken by Ben the next morning because he’d ignored his alarm. The first year Ravenclaws went down to breakfast together that morning, Toni by Jughead’s side. 

“Did you go out and find the room I told you about?” she asked as they entered the Great Hall and navigated themselves over to their House table. 

“Yeah,” he replied sleepily. 

“Anything good you’d like to report?” 

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” he said. “Maybe later.” 

“Suit yourself,” she shrugged, sitting down on the bench next to him. 

Jughead felt a little better after getting some breakfast in his system, loading up on bacon, toast, eggs, juice, whatever he could get his hands on. While he was nearly shoving food and coffee down his throat, Toni tried to engage herself in whatever Ethel was talking to Dilton about. 

After Jughead poured himself a third cup of coffee, the owl post flew into the Great Hall. Jughead rolled his eyes just before Hot Dog landed gently on his shoulder, remembering yesterday’s terrible occurrence. He groaned. 

“You have got to be kidding me,” he grumbled. “What in Merlin’s name did I do this time?” he asked, taking the letter from the snowy owl and tossing a piece of toast towards him. Hot Dog caught it in his beak and took off for the owlery again. Jughead wanted to slam his head on the table… maybe flip it if he was feeling chaotic. When he turned the envelope over, he saw that it was from his mom and he calmed instantly. The parchment wasn’t red so he sighed in relief and opened it. 

_ Jughead, _

_ I’m sorry I couldn’t stop your father from sending that Howler yesterday. I can only imagine the outburst it caused at breakfast. I want you to know that your father doesn’t speak for Jelly and I in that Howler he sent. _

_ Jelly is very happy for you, and she believes you’ll be right where you’re supposed to be in Ravenclaw (she shared this after I explained the difference between the Houses, but nevertheless). She really misses you reading to her, but I let her borrow some books from your room to keep her company. _

_ I am also very excited for you, Jug, as I always thought that you wouldn’t be sorted into Slytherin. I think it’s a very good opportunity for you to change what people see when they hear the name Jones. I have no doubt that you’ll be great and that you’ll do great no matter where you end up. _

_ Love, Mom. _

_ P.S. If Ravenclaw is ever lucky enough to have you as a chaser, Jelly and I won’t be missing a single match! _

When he finished reading the letter, Jughead folded up the parchment, tucking it into a pocket under his robes. For the first time in 24 hours, he was able to smile while he sat at the Ravenclaw table, feeling lucky for not following in his dad’s footsteps. 

Jughead took a look around the Great Hall, seeing students of all Houses enjoying themselves as they talked to their friends. Some of them were friends with people in other House. He looked across the room to see Betty, still with her head down. Just when he thought about maybe going to talk to her, Jughead watched as Veronica Lodge and Cheryl Blossom got up from their place at the Slytherin table, making a beeline for Betty. They tapped her on the shoulder and she turned her head to see her best friends. 

Jughead watched as she jumped up to hug them both, finally seeing a bright smile on her face as she introduced them to Archie. While Veronica started a conversation with the ginger boy, Betty glanced across the way, locking eyes with Jughead momentarily. 

He could feel time stop as she chanced a small wave and smile. He grinned in return, waving back to him. 

_ I think she’ll be just fine, _ Jughead thought. _ Maybe we can still be friends or something. _

Little did Jughead know that the coming month would change all of that. 

Nearly two weeks after Hogwarts’ fall term had begun, it was announced that Elizabeth Cooper was to be the new Gryffindor seeker, the youngest student to make a quidditch team since Harry Potter himself. 

Jughead was left in the dust, watching from afar as Betty rose in popularity… And after a short time, it seemed as though Betty was far from his reach. 

He became the Ravenclaw loner of their year while Betty became the popular Gryffindor, their only tie being that Betty had the best marks in their year, Jughead right behind her. Neither told anyone about their encounter on their second night at Hogwarts, and neither forgot about it. 

Betty had kept her promise to him, so he was going to keep his promise to her, even if he was nonexistent in her life now. He was prepared to attend every Gryffindor quidditch match, even if he would rather brood in the library or his common room instead. 

Even though he planned on supporting the dreamy blonde, Jughead was very pessimistic that he and Betty would be friends again. After all, she was from a rich, aristocratic, pureblood family that didn’t want anything to do with him. He lived in a trailer in the Scottish Highlands with his deadbeat dad. They were separated by two completely different worlds, unlikely to collide again. 

That was, until their sixth year…


	2. the light in the darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just as he slid into the seat, he looked over at who he was sitting next to. His jaw dropped, seeing the blonde ponytail held by a pink ribbon. 
> 
> “Betty?” he asked quietly while McGonagall closed the classroom doors. Her head whipped around to see Jughead right next to her. 
> 
> “Sweet Merlin,” she gasped. “What are you doing in here?” 
> 
> “I could ask the same,” he replied, flooded by an overwhelming sense of deja vu from that night in the Room of Requirement where they had said those exact words to each other. His eyes hung on her green irises for a moment, unable to comprehend a single thought. Jughead pulled his schedule from his pocket, smoothing out the rumpled piece of parchment he had been handed by Professor Flitwick at breakfast. Betty followed his lead, unfolding hers and setting it on the table. 
> 
> “Professor Longbottom gave this to me earlier,” she whispered, pushing it next to Jughead’s.
> 
> Side by side, it was clear: they had all of their classes together besides Jughead’s Care of Magical Creatures course (she was in Arithmancy during that time). 
> 
> “Bloody hell,” she muttered. “This is crazy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this took forever to put out. Enjoy all 48 pages of this, I guess!
> 
> Time jump - 1st year to 6th year

“Look, mom, Jelly will be fine with Toni and Archie and I,” Jughead said, standing on Platform 9 and ¾ for the sixth time he’d been attending Hogwarts. “It’s okay to let go.” He draped his arm over his eleven year-old sister’s shoulders. 

“Yeah, mom, we’ll be okay,” Jellybean added. 

“Merlin, I just love you two so bloody much,” she said, stepping in to hug them both tightly. 

“Toni and I will give her all the good pointers. She’ll know Hogwarts like the bottom of her cauldron.” 

“Alright,” Gladys said, stepping back. “You better hop on with Archie and Toni or I’ll have to owl the school,” she laughed, waving them off. 

Toni was waiting by the cabin door for them all while Archie was hugging his mother again. Jughead let Jellybean get on the train before he turned, waiting for the Gryffindor. 

“Hey, rooster top!” Jughead shouted. Archie turned around and rolled his eyes at the nickname. “C’mon, let’s go!” He did a half jog to the door as Toni and Jughead boarded, Archie getting on the train behind them and just before the doors closed. 

“Alright, I gotta go find Cooper in the prefects’ compartment,” Archie said, clapping Jughead on the shoulder. “I’ll see you later?” Jughead glanced at the badge pinned to the sixth year’s scarlet sweater. 

“Definitely, Arch,” Jughead replied. “Come find us if you can.” 

“Bye!” he added, making his way towards the front of the train as they pulled away from the London train station. Adjusting his beanie, Jughead went the opposite direction, finding Toni standing outside a compartment with the door open. 

“This one ours?” he asked. The pink-haired, petite teenager nodded, motioning for him to step inside. He saw Jellybean still waving towards where they had come from, just as he had done in his first year. “Welcome to the Hogwarts Express, ‘Bean.” Jughead took the opposite bench, flopping his body on it. Toni took a seat next to Jellybean after sliding the door shut. It was only then that the dirty blonde eleven year-old finally sat down properly. 

“Thanks for sharing your compartment,” she added. “I don’t know anyone else yet.” 

“Oh, I’m sure Jughead understands that plenty well,” Toni joked. Jellybean looked confused. 

“I sat by myself on my first ride to Hogwarts,” he admitted. “Wasn’t fun. I have no problem with letting you hang with us.” 

The last five years at Hogwarts hadn’t been spectacular, but it had been better than being anywhere else. Jughead was ranked second in his class, above a jealous Dilton Doiley and behind the one and only Betty Cooper. Ever since the day that she became a seeker on the Gryffindor House quidditch team, she’d become untouchable for someone of his social status. Reggie had easily changed his mind about her presence in Gryffindor House after she won them their first quidditch cup that same year (Reggie hadn’t changed since first year, though; he was still a little shit that boasted about his pureblood status). She, along with her best friend Veronica and cousin Cheryl, became the most popular girls in the school together, Betty for being an outstanding seeker and the top of her class while Veronica turned into a boy magnet (none of the people she dated stuck around for more than a day after she realized they were below her) and Cheryl flaunted her wealth like it was nobody’s business.

While Veronica and Cheryl were getting much attention from the male population (and the population in general), Betty had a reputation for being seriously focused on her studies and quidditch. She didn’t party, she didn’t break rules, and she was known for putting people of any House in their place. Reggie shoved a first year? The blonde became a firm, boisterous version of herself, helping the first year up while rising to Reggie’s height to scold him. Moose cheated off of her in an exam? Jughead had watched Betty singlehandedly pin the burly teen against a wall, gritting her teeth and almost spitting in his face while she threatened him if he even so much as glanced at her quill again. Chuck Clayton looked at Veronica for half a second too long? Betty pulled him to the side to have a conversation… then he ended up coughing up slugs for the rest of the day, blaming it on a mix up as he said an incantation. 

While Jughead hadn’t been noticed by her for some time, he knew she was still as charming as she was the night they met. To his knowledge, neither of them had said anything to anyone about their rendez-vous on their second night at Hogwarts, but he didn’t blame her. She had better friends, better things to do than be friends with a Jones. Jughead knew that if her parents hadn’t been so prickly that they would probably still be friends. He hadn’t missed any one of the matches she played in, but he chose to avoid almost all of the other matches when Ravenclaw wasn’t playing (even though Kevin Keller tended to make it interesting when he narrated the matches). 

Jughead’s world didn’t revolve around her, but he’d still been filled with regret for not being able to be her friend. She was the perfect candidate to be friends with. If he could choose any three people to be best friends with, he’d choose Betty Cooper, Toni Topaz, and Archie Andrews. 

Toni and Archie were Jughead’s best friends, by far. If he was being honest with himself, they were his  _ only _ friends. Toni was almost constantly around because they were in the same House, whereas Archie was around when he could be. The ginger came over to the Ravenclaw table for breakfast, dinner, or just to check his homework against Jughead’s. Even with Archie around, Toni was definitely Jughead’s best friend. 

Jughead went home for Christmas break during his first year only to be slapped in the face by his father, then berated, then pulled apart by Gladys. For the rest of the time he was home, his mom kept him and his father apart so it wouldn’t happen again, often getting Jughead to go across the trailer park to Toni’s so they could hang out and play Muggle video games together. Once he came back for the second term, his mother had written him and told him that he shouldn’t come home except for summer vacation, purely for his safety, so he hadn’t. Toni had stayed behind with him every time. Once Archie became part of their group of three, he stayed behind sometimes too. Staying behind during school breaks became something they looked forward to, a tradition among them. They’d raid the kitchens for snacks and take them all up to Jughead’s vacated Ravenclaw room, where they would stay up, talk, and joke around as much as they wanted (all of the male Ravenclaws in their year typically went home for the holidays). 

Even when he went home for summer vacation, Toni was still just a two minute walk from Jughead’s door. They spent nearly every summer together, except for the second half of the past summer because she was working at a restaurant near the trailer park and staying with her reluctant uncle, which was nowhere near where he was living now. 

Jughead came home for the summer after his fourth year to be greeted by his mom and sister, where they surprised him by taking him to their new house in Oxford. Jughead was shocked when Gladys told him how they’d come to move into a small house. 

Just before Jughead’s final exams at Hogwarts that year, FP had gotten insanely drunk on firewhiskey one night. Gladys came home to find FP mad at Jellybean for accidentally tripping over him. She was in tears, apologizing to him over and over when Gladys realized she had come home at just the right time. FP was about to swing at Jellybean when Gladys hit him with the full body bind curse, making the sturdy man’s limbs snap together before he hit the floor. She then took advantage of the situation, gathering Jellybean into her arms before taking everything except what belonged to FP and putting it in a single duffel bag that she had placed an extension charm on. 

That night, Gladys Apparated to Oxford with Jellybean and the duffel bag. They stayed in a local hotel for a few nights before Gladys had found a small house that she could afford, with enough room for the three of them and Toni. 

The pink-haired girl had been offered a place in the house during summers and school breaks, as Gladys knew that Toni wasn’t in the best home situation either. In fact, the only time that Toni hadn’t come home with Jughead for the summer since she accepted Gladys’ offer was during the past summer. Jughead hadn’t spent much time home either because Toni wasn’t around. He’d gone and spent the summer at Archie’s, getting closer to the main redhead in his life. 

Even though the three with varying hair colors were inseparable, much hadn’t changed as they were heading into their sixth year. Archie had been a prefect since his fifth year, right next to Betty Cooper. Hufflepuff had Kevin Keller and Josie McCoy, Slytherin had Veronica Lodge and Chuck Clayton. Just before Jughead’s fifth year, he’d been offered the position for Ravenclaw along with Ethel Muggs, but he didn’t want it so he asked Headmistress McGonagall to choose someone else. She chose Dilton Doiley as Jughead’s replacement, who ended up in some hot water at the end of his fifth year and had to hand the position over to Ben Button (Dilton wasn’t happy with the change, even though it was entirely his fault that it happened). So, yeah, their sixth year was starting out just like all of their other years had started, and Jughead wasn’t complaining. He was living a good life at the moment, his best friend across the compartment with him, his little sister right next to her. Breaking his concentration, Jellybean asked where the bathroom was and Toni gave her directions to get there. Before he knew it, she was gone. 

Jughead smiled for absolutely no reason besides being content… until he looked to his left and saw none other than Reggie Mantle, showing off something to a few girls in the compartment next to theirs. Moose Mason was right behind him, along with another burly guy. 

Along with the rest of Hogwarts, Reggie Mantle was still the goblin crotch that one student called him in their first year. He was nothing if not a bully to Jughead, making sure he knew where the Jones name stood in society. Nobody gawked at him anymore for being a Jones, but Reggie was squeezing that frog brain for all it was worth. Any basic ploy a bully would use had been done to Jughead by Reggie and his gang. 

By some twisted fate, Reggie had managed to get on the Gryffindor quidditch team with Archie as chasers during their third year, Moose following right behind them the next year to become a brainless beater. Archie getting on the quidditch team had brought him teasing by Reggie because he was friends with Jughead, but Archie didn’t give a galleon about what Reggie said about him. 

Jughead thought he was in the clear concerning Reggie until the solid-figured Gryffindor spotted him halfway past the door. He rolled his eyes as Reggie smiled to himself, but Jughead didn’t care. 

“Goblin crotch, incoming,” Jughead warned, watching Reggie barge into their compartment. 

“Jones, Jones, Jones!” Reggie said, Moose and the guy Jughead recognized as Mad Dog right behind him. “Look at what the Floo brought in.” 

“Merlin, Mantle, d’you take a day off?” Jughead asked, annoyed. 

“I’m Gryffindor’s new quidditch captain, which means I don’t get any days off,” Reggie bragged, pointing to the badge pinned to his Maple Racing Broom hoodie. 

“Isn’t there someone else you can go bother today, or am I just dessert for you?” Jughead droned. “This old game is getting as tired as the Chudley Cannons. Don’t you have someone else to interrupt with your shiny new pin?” 

“Why would I go to someone else when you’re here to remind us all about the importance of managing our money correctly?” Reggie teased, earning a laugh from his friends. “How’s that disgraced father of yours?” 

“I wouldn’t know, just like the last three times you asked,” Jughead retorted. “Who knows, maybe he’s getting it on with your mom--” 

Reggie, enraged, stepped forward to grab Jughead by the throat, but Jughead pulled his wand from his sleeve faster than Reggie could think. 

“I wouldn’t,” Jughead muttered, stopping Reggie in his tracks. 

“Or what, Jones?” Reggie teased, pulling out his own wand. 

“Ladies, please, you’re both very pretty,” Veronica Lodge called out from behind them, Archie standing right next to her. 

“Move on, Reg,” Archie told the group of three boys, pulling Reggie out of the compartment by the hood of his sweatshirt. “Go terrorize someone else for once.” Archie gave him a gentle shove towards where the piece of vermin came from, then poked his head inside. “Everyone good in here?” he asked, Veronica already moving on. 

“It was entertaining until they pulled their wands on each other,” Toni teased, not looking up from her book. 

“Thanks, Arch. That’ll do,” Jughead added, rolling his eyes at Toni’s comment. 

“I’ll see you guys later. Veronica and I are patrolling this cabin for the moment. I’ll come back if I can.” 

“Don’t wait on us, rooster top,” Jughead replied, waving the prefect off. He left with a smile. 

Just after Archie left, Jellybean came back from the bathroom. 

“What’d I miss?” she asked, sitting back down. 

“Nothing,” Jughead and Toni replied together. 

“Have you decided about trying out for quidditch yet?” Jellybean asked. They had talked about how two spots needed to be filled in Ravenclaw’s team this year, a seeker and a chaser were needed. 

“I’ll only go for chaser if Toni goes for seeker,” Jughead challenged, a grin coming across his lips. 

“Leave me out of it, Jones,” Toni replied. 

“We’ve talked about this, T. You said You’d try out with me if the seeker spot ever became open,” Jughead complained. “We could both make the team this year.” 

“Uuuuuuuugh,” Toni groaned. “Fine. You got me. I’ll try out if you do.” 

“That’s so awesome!” Jellybean almost squealed. “I can’t wait to see you both play!” 

“We said we’d try out, Jelly, not that we’d make the team,” Jughead said. 

“I don’t care--” 

_ Knock knock _

All three heads in the compartment turned to face the door. 

“Jones,” Sweet Pea greeted curtly, Fangs and Joaquin behind him. “Topaz.” 

“Out with it,” Jughead said. “What is it?” 

“You should really be kinder to us, Jones,” Sweet Pea said. “Your old man wants us to bring his little Jellybean back to him.” He nodded towards the eleven year old in the corner. Toni and Jughead stood up protectively, blocking the girl from view. 

“You wouldn’t,” Toni said through gritted teeth. Jughead knew Jellybean was like Toni’s little sister after all this time. 

“No, I wouldn’t,” Sweet Pea said. “Not yet. King Jones hasn’t decided if he wants us to take her back to him or not, and frankly, I don’t want her clawing me all the way to the Highlands.” 

“I would rip you to shreds, Pea!” Jellybean butted in. 

“I know you would, kid, which is why I haven’t come close,” Sweet Pea continued. “Maybe if he had his son back he wouldn’t want girl wonder.” 

“Are you trying to get me to join that  _ stupid _ gang my dad started?” Jughead asked. 

“That’s the offer. You in exchange for your sister’s guaranteed safety,” Sweet Pea said. “I don’t want to be doing this, Jughead. We’re only given orders.” 

“If you don’t want to do it, then don’t,” Jughead snarled. “I’m not joining your filthy  _ Scottish Serpents,” _ Jughead mocked. “And if you do try and take Jellybean then you’re in for one hell of a ride back to Sunnyside. She can defend herself.” He’d started too many tickle fights with her to know that she could kick. And scratch. And bite. And punch. And so, so much more. “Now get out before I call a prefect. I’m sure the rest of Slytherin wouldn’t be too happy with you three losing points before we get to Hogwarts.” 

Jughead watched Fangs tell them subtly that they should go, that Jughead was friends with multiple prefects. Sweet Pea had been defeated and he didn’t like it, but he left with his other two friends. When they were gone, Jughead slid the door closed and sat down. 

“Merlin’s beard,” Jughead groaned, running a hand over his face and adjusting his beanie. 

“Bloody hell, what was that?” Jellybean asked. 

“It’s just another year at Hogwarts,” Jughead sighed, wishing the trolley witch would hurry up and find their compartment. He was hungry, after all. 

**\---**

Jellybean Jones ended up in Gryffindor House that night, nearly snarling when Professor Flitwick had used her full name in front of the entire school. Jughead laughed to himself about that, but he was proud of her for getting sorted into Gryffindor. He made sure to give her a big hug after dinner was over, letting her know he was proud. 

Archie wasn’t able to sit with Jughead and Toni during the feast that night, so the next legitimate conversation Jughead had with the ginger was when he pulled him to the side of the hall after their first class, NEWT Care of Magical Creatures with Professor Hagrid. 

“What’s up?” Archie asked, a little concerned as he had been pulled from the flow of traffic. Jughead leaned on the wall next to him. 

“Nothing important,” Jughead replied. “I just wanted to let you know that I’ve decided to go for the chaser position on the Ravenclaw team--” 

“Dude, that’s awesome!” Archie said, smiling brightly and giving his shoulder a light punch. “Is Toni going for seeker too?” 

“Yeah, she said she’d try out if I did, so we’re gonna do it,” he said. “But I was hoping you could give me some pointers before I have to try out.” 

“Yeah, I can. You wanna meet up and study for NEWT Care of Magical Creatures or--” 

“Yeah that sounds g-- Arch, who in Merlin’s name is that?” Jughead asked suddenly, seeing past Archie’s shoulder. 

There was a girl walking towards them that Jughead didn’t recognize, though she seemed familiar. Her hair was honey blonde and pulled back, looking soft to the touch and curling at the end of her ponytail. He could see her eyes from across the hall, a beautiful meadow green. She had a natural, almost blinding smile on her face, Jughead noticed as she got closer. Her legs were long, even though they were covered by the black tights she wore under her uniform skirt. She was a Gryffindor from what Jughead could tell, the red and gold tie and the coat of arms on sewn on her robes. 

“Is she an exchange student from Beauxbatons or something?” he asked as Archie glanced over his own shoulder to see what he was seeing. 

“No, dude,” Archie laughed softly, looking back at his friend. 

“I’ve never seen her before in my life,” Jughead added. 

“Jug, that’s Betty Cooper,” Archie told him, looking at Jughead as if he were born under a rock. 

_ “Betty what now?!”  _ Jughead hissed. 

“Hush, she’s coming over here,” Archie interrupted, turning to face the angelic-looking blonde. 

Betty was mesmerising. Jughead felt his mouth go dry at the sight of her. She was so much more beautiful than he remembered, but then again, this was the first time he’d really seen her up close since their first year. Case in point, Jughead had been slapped in the face by the young woman that was getting closer by the second. 

_ Son of a banshee, she’s fucking stunning, _ Jughead thought. 

“Hey, Archie,” she said, gaining the redhead’s attention. 

“What’s up, Betty?” Archie replied cooly. 

Jughead didn’t hear much of what she said after that. He was too distracted by Betty being…  _ well, _ Betty. She seemed much happier now than she had the night they met, and she’d definitely grown into her looks, too. She smiled and nodded when Archie said something, her blonde ponytail swaying with her, almost hypnotizing him. Jughead remembered how they had been evenly matched in wizard’s chess, so he knew that she was smart (he knew she was smart regardless because she had the highest marks in their class). Just when he thought he would never come back to reality, Betty and Archie turned to him. 

“Hi, Jughead,” she greeted cheerily, Jughead’s eyes darting up to the pink ribbon holding up her hair. “Archie and I need to do some prefect stuff. D’you mind if I steal him for a bit?” 

“N-No,” he stuttered, gathering himself. This was the first time she’d legitimately spoken to him in five years. “Go ahead, Betty.” 

“Thanks!” she replied, starting down the hall with Archie beside her. Jughead watched them go… until he was shoved. It wasn’t enough to knock him over, but it was enough to startle him. 

“Jones, Jones, Jones. Mmm, mmm, mmm.” Jughead didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. 

“Reginald,” he mustered curtly. 

“Looks like somebody’s got it for Baby Coop,” Reggie said, Moose laughing behind him. 

“Speak for yourself, perv,” Jughead muttered. 

“Oh I will. I definitely will,” he added. Jughead rolled his eyes. “Baby Coop had one bloody hell of a glow up over the summer, wouldn’t you say, Forsythe?” 

“Leave it to you for someone to need commentary on girls,” Jughead said, annoyed. “What’s your point?” 

“Well, you’re not the only one that’s noticed, is all.” 

“Okay, so  _ you _ have. Congratulations, you have eyes,” Jughead replied sarcastically. 

“Oh it’s not just me, either,” Reggie whispered. “Look around, Jones.  _ Everyone’s _ interested now.” Jughead rolled his eyes again, allowing himself to take a look around like Reggie suggested. 

His eyes locked on Chuck Clayton first, watching the Slytherin almost run into a suit of armor, his head turned towards Betty as she passed. 

_ Dragon shit,  _ he thought. 

Next, he saw Dilton in an obviously Betty-induced haze, his mouth close to watering. 

Then he saw Trev Brown wave to Betty. When she waved back kindly, Jughead thought the poor boy was going to faint. 

And then he saw how Archie was looking at her, though she notably wasn’t looking back at him the same way. Jughead could almost see the desperation in Archie’s eyes: he was smitten. 

“Merlin’s pants,” Jughead mumbled after a moment. 

“That’s right, Jughead,” Reggie continued. “Looks like you’ve got some competition for the blonde goddess that has graced Hogwarts’ halls today.” Jughead felt Reggie lean closer to his ear. “And don’t forget, my hippogriff will be wanting my piece of the Betty Cooper pie too, so don’t you  _ dare _ count me out.” 

Reggie and Moose walked away, laughing like fools as they made their way in the opposite direction of Betty and Archie. He watched his best friend and Betty turn the corner, catching a glimpse of her light pink converse high tops under her robes. 

_ Bloody hell, _ Jughead thought.  _ I’m fucked. _

**\---**

Jughead knew, coming into his sixth year, that NEWT level classes would be mixed with all Houses because students were now choosing the subjects they wanted to take. Hogwarts did that to ensure that all students were adequately prepared for getting a job in the wizarding world and so that students could socialize amongst other students with similar interests. Jughead had decided that he wanted to be an auror after he learned down the grapevine that his father had started a gang in their old trailer park sometime during his fifth year. He realized that he wanted to be one of the people stopping those that broke the law, rather than being seen as the grandson of a Death Eater. He had the ambition to pursue such a career, earning “Outstanding” marks on his OWLs in Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Herbology. Lucky for him, those were the subjects he needed to take in the NEWT level to be qualified to be an auror. 

Even with his “Exceeding Expectations” marks in Care of Magical Creatures and History of Magic and an “Acceptable” in Astronomy, Jughead was able to make his future what he wanted. He was taking multiple classes at the NEWT level and he had multiple free periods per day. He was taking classes required for his career: Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Herbology, as well as two classes of his choice: NEWT History of Magic (Headmistress McGonagall had somehow gotten Professor Binns to leave, finding none other than Hermione Granger-Weasley to teach) and Care of Magical Creatures. 

Jughead had only been to one class on their first day of the fall term, Care of Magical Creatures with Archie, before he’d been figuratively  _ stupefy _ -ed by Betty Cooper. When he was finally able to get his legs to walk forward, he somehow made his way to NEWT Charms, taking a seat close to Professor Flitwick, but not so close that he wasn’t able to see the small wizard. Jughead saved a seat for his best friend, that he knew had this class too. 

Toni came into the classroom a minute later, spotting Jughead. She took a seat on the opposite side that Jughead had saved. 

“Sup, Jones,” she greeted, sitting down in the wrong chair. 

“You realized I was saving the  _ other _ seat next to me, right?” Jughead asked, slightly irritated that he’d gone to the trouble. 

“I do what I want, Jug,” she replied. “You should know that by now.” Jughead only rolled his eyes in response, taking his used textbooks out of the other seat beside him and placing them on the desk. 

“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled. He couldn’t stay mad at his pink-haired best friend. Before long, they were talking and laughing, waiting for class to start. Just as Professor Flitwick called the class to order, two people entered the room and shut the door behind them. 

“Alright, let’s take our seats please,” Flitwick said. 

“Sorry we’re late, Professor!” one of the two called from the back, Jughead realizing that he recognized her voice. He turned and saw who it was. 

_ Merlin, it’s Betty Cooper, _ Jughead thought to himself.  _ And Cheryl Blossom, too. _

With a quick glance around the room, he realized that the only empty seats in the room were the ones on either side of Jughead and Toni. Before he could prepare himself for what happened next, Betty Cooper was standing next to Jughead’s row. 

“Hey Jughead, d’you mind if I sit?” she whispered as Flitwick began class. Jughead looked up at her, dumbfounded. 

“Y-Yeah, go ahead,” he replied softly. 

“Thanks.” She slid into the seat, pulling out her things. Jughead looked over at Toni and noticed that Cheryl was on her other side. The pink-haired teen shrugged her shoulders at him, pulling out a quill and a piece of parchment. Jughead followed Betty’s lead, beginning to take notes on the Patronus Charm. 

Betty didn’t really say much to him during the lecture portion, they were just focused on taking notes. When Professor Flitwick was done lecturing and answering questions from the class, they moved on to the practical portion of the class: attempting to conjure a patronus. They were paired up based on who they were sitting next to, and that was when Jughead looked towards Toni. 

She and Cheryl were getting up together to go practice. 

_ Merlin, Toni, _ Jughead thought, turning around towards Betty. 

“Hey,” he said. Her green eyes immediately flashed to look into his. 

“You wanna be partners?” they asked each other at the same time. Both Jughead and Betty were quiet for a moment before they burst into laughter, finding the situation funny. 

“Alright, but seriously, would you mind being my partner?” Betty asked, coming down off of her laughing. 

“As long as you’re okay being mine,” he replied, a small smile on his lips. “But just so you know, I’ve already conjured my patronus before.” 

“Maybe you could tell me all about it while I try to get mine, then,” she said, getting up and going to find an open space. Jughead got up right after her, almost stumbling over himself. He followed Betty to the middle of the room, watching as she stopped then spun around to look at him. “This good?” 

“Yeah, this is a good spot,” he assented. Students had already begun shouting the incantation and trying to conjure their corporeal patronus. 

“Are you going to show me how it’s done, or should I try first?” she asked then, teasing just a little. Jughead cleared his throat and nodded, getting ready. 

_ “Expecto Patronum!” _ Jughead shouted pointing his wand just above Betty’s head. She watched in awe as a bright, silvery blue figure appeared, morphing until it distinctly became the shape of an animal. 

“What is it?” Betty asked, her green eyes filled with wonder, the light from his patronus reflected in her irises. 

“It’s a black bear,” Jughead replied, his eyes locked on the large bear. It pranced around above the class before coming down to the floor’s level. It walked by Jughead’s leg before it looked up, cutting across the classroom floor to Betty. The blonde was still infatuated with the creature, watching as it approached her. “Don’t worry, he’s friendly.” The bear nudged Betty’s hand with his muzzle before disappearing again. She giggled, looking up at Jughead. He hadn’t realized that he was smiling or staring at her until he felt her gaze on him. They were beaming at each other, and Jughead felt a strong sense of deja vu at the interaction, remembering the Room of Requirement visit during their first year. As he came down off the memory, Jughead realized that the class had fallen quiet, muttering about how he’d gotten it on the first try. 

“Well done, Mr. Jones!” Professor Flitwick piped up from across the room. “Well done, indeed!” 

After that, the class went back to its chatter and incantations, most of the students still trying to conjure their patronuses. 

“Wow,” Betty said, coming closer to him. “That’s awesome. Where’d you learn to do that?” 

“I found a book in the library during fourth year,” Jughead admitted, fumbling with his wand in his hands nervously. “Can’t remember what I was looking for, but I found the Patronus Charm and I worked for a few days over spring break on it, finally conjuring my bear the day before everyone came back.” 

“That’s really cool,” she gushed. “Could you help me? I don’t really know how to do it as well--” 

“Yeah, of course,” Jughead answered immediately. “Okay, so pick a memory where you felt nothing but happy, like your soul was completely filled with happiness.” 

“Got it,” Betty said, stepping back to where she had been. 

“Let it fill you up. Remember it like you’re there again,” Jughead said. “And then cast the spell.” 

She closed her eyes and smiled, sighing, then lifted her wand. 

_ “Expecto Patronum!”  _ she shouted. A burst of silver came from her wand, but besides that, nothing happened. “Aww.” 

“It’ll take a couple tries,” Jughead said encouragingly. “Try a different memory,” he suggested. “One even happier than before.” 

“Alright,” she said, closing her eyes and smiling again before shouting:  _ “Expecto Patronum!” _ A few more silver wisps flew into the air. 

“That’s progress,” Jughead said. “We’re gonna get there eventually, Betty. Just takes some practice.” She nodded. “This time, try… a memory that you cherish because you’re so happy. Somewhere you wish you could go back to… better times, or something.” Betty nodded again, closing her eyes and smiling for a moment as she soaked in the memory she’d chosen. This time, she laughed and smiled wider before raising her wand. 

_ “Expecto Patronum!” _ she shouted a third time. Bright silver erupted from the tip of her wand as Jughead and Betty both looked up at it. The figure was scrambled for a moment before it finally took a form. Jughead laughed heartily, smiling wide. 

“There it is!” he said proudly. 

“Is that--?” she began. 

“A basset hound!” Professor Flitwick announced to the class, watching all of the students turn towards the dog with large floppy ears running around in a circle above Jughead and Betty’s heads. “Excellent job, Miss Cooper!” 

“Thank you, Professor!” she called back, not taking her eyes off the dog. Jughead watched while the basset hound ran around excitedly, coming down to the floor and sniffing at Betty’s feet. She giggled before the silver dog ran over to Jughead and sniffed his feet too, looking up at him just before it vanished. 

“Third try,” Jughead said simply, looking up at Betty, who was blushing. “Impressive, Cooper.” 

“Thanks, Jughead,” she said genuinely, walking closer to him. “I don’t think I would have been able to do that without you.” 

“My pleasure,” he replied, smirking. 

“Well done today, class!” Professor Flitwick said. “Keep working on casting your Patronus Charms! I will see you all tomorrow! Class dismissed!” 

Betty and Jughead looked at each other again as the rest of the class went back to their seats to gather their things and head to their next class. Jughead waved her over and they walked back to their seats together. 

“I’m kinda surprised,” Betty admitted. 

“About what?” he replied. 

“Thought my patronus was going to be a cat,” she replied with a soft laugh. “You know, because of Caramel.” 

“Oh,” he breathed, smiling. “Doesn’t really work that way. I don’t really know how it  _ does _ work all that well, but it’s not based on pets, that’s for sure.” They made it back to their seats, putting their things in their backpacks. 

“Really?” she asked. “I always thought you kept a black bear in your room.” They laughed together again. 

“I prefer to keep him in my wand,” Jughead retorted, slinging his backpack over his shoulders. Betty did the same and they walked out the door together. “Alright. I’ll see you around, I guess.” 

“See you later, Jughead,” she replied, heading over to her cousin, Cheryl, while Jughead found Toni. 

“So how goes ditching me?” Jughead asked, beginning to walk with Toni down the hall. They had their next class together, too: NEWT Transfiguration. 

“Hey, I didn’t ditch you,” she replied. “Blossom asked  _ me _ if  _ I _ wanted to pair up with _ her.”  _ Jughead rolled his eyes. “Plus, I saw the way you looked at Cooper when she asked if she could sit next to you.” 

“Excuse me?” Jughead asked, not knowing where  _ that _ comment came from. 

“Merlin, Jughead, I saw it from a mile away,” Toni said, stepping in front of him and stopping them both in the hallway. “Everyone in this school  _ knows _ that she looks amazing after coming back to school. I’m into girls, too. Remember? She  _ does _ look enticing… but I’m not into blondes and  _ you _ already seemed to have claimed her.” 

“Woah, woah, woah,” Jughead replied. “Betty Cooper is not a soul to be claimed. Do you remember what she did to Moose last year?” 

“How could I not? It was  _ quite _ impressive how she pinned Mason against the wall single-handedly.” 

“Then you know that there is no way that anyone could ever claim her,” Jughead added. “She reports to nobody.” 

“I didn’t mean  _ claim _ literally, Jug,” Toni said softer, beginning to walk with him again. “She’s piqued your interest, is all.” 

“N--” 

“Don’t deny it, you don’t smile at anyone else the same way that you did towards Betty Cooper in Charms class today,” Toni stated bluntly. “You can’t pull a fast one on me, Jones. We’re best friends. I can read you like Trelawney reads glass balls.” 

“Trelawney is terrible at--” 

“No, Jug, she’s brilliant at her craft. Everyone just sees her as a loony bird,” Toni insisted. Jughead should have known that Toni would defend the Divination professor; she was taking NEWT Divination with her. 

“Okay, whatever. But you’re  _ wrong, _ Topaz,” he said, entering Headmistress McGonagall’s classroom. Even though she was the Headmistress of Hogwarts, McGonagall was easily the best Transfiguration teacher there was. She only taught NEWT level students, though. All of her other time was devoted to being the Headmistress of the school. 

“Ah, Mr. Jones and Miss Topaz. Welcome,” Headmistress McGonagall greeted them. “Feel free to take any empty seat.” 

Seeing as Toni had stopped them in the hall as they were heading to McGonagall’s class, there were only two empty seats left. The tables were smaller than they had been in Flitwick’s classroom, only two per table. Jughead spotted the two seats (as he was taller), one on one side of the room and another across the aisle. He motioned to his friend, making his way to the seat closer to the center. Toni took the one across the aisle. 

Just as he slid into the seat, he looked over at who he was sitting next to. His jaw dropped, seeing the blonde ponytail held by a pink ribbon. 

“Betty?” he asked quietly while McGonagall closed the classroom doors. Her head whipped around to see Jughead right next to her. 

“Sweet Merlin,” she gasped. “What are you doing in here?” 

“I could ask the same,” he replied, flooded by an overwhelming sense of deja vu from that night in the Room of Requirement where they had said those exact words to each other. His eyes hung on her green irises for a moment, unable to comprehend a single thought. Jughead pulled his schedule from his pocket, smoothing out the rumpled piece of parchment he had been handed by Professor Flitwick at breakfast. Betty followed his lead, unfolding hers and setting it on the table. 

“Professor Longbottom gave this to me earlier,” she whispered, pushing it next to Jughead’s.

Side by side, it was clear: they had all of their classes together besides Jughead’s Care of Magical Creatures course (she was in Arithmancy during that time). 

“Bloody hell,” she muttered. “This is crazy.” 

“I’ll say,” he replied quietly, as Headmistress McGonagall was explaining how NEWT courses would be different from the classes they were in before, particularly harder, too. “Uh… what career were you going for, Betty?” Jughead asked. 

“My plan is to become an auror,” she replied. “Why?” 

“Because that’s exactly what my plan was.” 

“So we’ve got the same schedule,” Betty concluded. “That’s crazy.” 

“And just so you students know,” McGonagall piped up, shattering the bubble that Betty and Jughead had found themselves in. “These will be your assigned seats for the rest of the school year, so get comfortable.” 

Nearly all of the class groaned (as students always do when a teacher assigns seats), but Betty and Jughead just looked at each other, swallowing nervously. 

_ Merlin’s beard, _ Jughead thought, his mouth going dry at the sight of Betty.  _ We’re in for one hell of a year. _

**\---**

For the rest of that first day, Betty and Jughead found themselves being forced into sitting next to each other in nearly every class. In Potions, Cheryl went to sit next to Chuck, leaving Betty with Jughead. In Defense Against the Dark Arts, Jughead tried his hardest to steer clear of Reggie and Moose, then ended up with Betty again. In Herbology, Veronica stole Archie away from Jughead, resulting in Betty needing someone to pair up with (so Jughead stepped in). And then in History of Magic, Jughead simply didn’t know anyone else in the class… except Betty Cooper. 

Sighing at how fate seemed to slam the two of them together after five years apart, Jughead slid into the seat next to her. 

“Here we go again,” he muttered, pulling out parchment, ink, and his quill. “How surprising to see you here, Betty.” 

She looked up from what she was writing in a journal. 

“You have a problem with seeing me?” she joked. “I’m happy that I have someone I know in this class.” 

“Same,” he replied. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” 

“Too long,” she agreed quietly, turning back to her journal and scribbling something in it before she closed it and looked up at him again. “Jughead?” 

“Yes, Betty?” 

“Can… I don’t know how to say this…” 

“You know me, I won’t judge you,” he encouraged her. The look on her face in that split second informed Jughead that she remembered their short time together in first year where he just listened to what she had to say… and how he had cheered her up. 

“Can you meet me in the Room of Requirement tonight?” she asked in a whisper. “I just want to talk to you without any distractions around.” 

“S-Sure,” he stuttered nervously, not expecting to hear that but processing it quickly. “Midnight?” 

“Perfect,” she said. “I have prefect rounds until just after then and I’ll make my way around to you… would you mind setting up the room while you wait for me?” 

“Not at all,” he breathed. “Like last time?” 

“Yeah,” she whispered, smiling at the memory. “Like last time.” 

“Alright,” he agreed, smirking subtly and flushing a little. He knew then that the rest of their last class of the day was going to be torture to simply sit next to her. 

**\---**

Jughead didn’t have any homework that night, but he still pretended to study in the common room after dinner. He watched and waited as the clock came closer to midnight, students heading up to their dormitories gradually. Eventually, he was the only one still there around 11:30, having fixed a cup of coffee for himself from the Ravenclaw common room’s supply. He waited fifteen more minutes before finally sneaking out. He closed the door quietly behind him, not eager to wake the bronze knocker and have it alert everyone to him sneaking around the castle after curfew. 

He crept down the stairs, then found his way over to the seventh floor of the west wing corridor. Jughead let his wand slip from his deep blue cable knit sweater and into his palm. 

_ “Lumos,” _ he muttered, the tip of his wand lighting his way. He crept down the hall and positioned himself in front of the door. Jughead then proceeded to walk past the door three times, thinking about everything he needed in the room. He remembered the large fireplace, the armchairs, the fluffy blankets and shag carpet, books lining the walls, the pillows, the tea and coffee and hot chocolate, the windows revealing the starry sky outside… before adding that he needed it to be accessible only to himself and Betty. 

When Jughead looked up, he saw the double doors etched into the walls. He smiled a little, happy that he was able to summon the room again, then crept inside. He found the room exactly like he’d made it in his first year and the effect on him was just as calm as ever. It was nice to have somewhere familiar to come back to after all this time. Walking towards where the coffee was, Jughead remembered how Betty had been so upset five years ago to the day, and how he had comforted her. 

Jughead found it chilling how naturally comforting Betty Cooper had come to him. He couldn’t remember anything being much easier than that. Their small dose of friendship that night was so overwhelmingly natural that it almost scared him as he looked back on that night. He’d never connected with someone so flawlessly, not even Toni. 

After all this time, he and Betty had been thrown back together so violently that it really was scaring him now. What did she need to talk to him about? Was she going to ask him to leave her alone? Had she heard that he was going out for quidditch and she was coming to rough him up to scale down the competition? (That last one, Jughead realized, would totally be something that quidditch captain Reggie Mantle would set up). 

Just as he was becoming more and more anxious about what Betty had asked him here for, one of the double doors opened and then closed quietly. Jughead looked up, seeing the back of a blonde head, ponytail tied up like always, and a tan tabby cat at her ankles. When she spun around, she locked eyes with Jughead. 

He was reminded by how green her eyes were, contrasting greatly with the pink T-shirt and matching converse high tops she wore. Her legs were just as long as they had been that morning, but this time, he could see them extending from a pair of light jean shorts. She looked so good after all this time that it left Jughead in a daze, only able to be snapped out of it by her voice. 

“Oh, good,” Betty sighed, just loud enough for him to hear. “You’re here.” She walked over to where he was, pouring herself a cup of tea. 

“Like I wouldn’t take this chance to get out of my common room,” he quipped, making Betty laugh softly while Jughead tried to avert himself from how good she really looked these days. 

“I don’t blame you,” she replied, adding a sugar cube to her teacup. “I’d rather be here than in Gryffindor with Reggie and Moose.” 

“Oh I definitely understand that,” he said. Once they both had their drinks, they walked over to the armchairs and sat down, just like they were in first year again. Betty stirred her tea for a moment. “So, uh,” Jughead started nervously, Caramel jumping up and seating herself in Betty’s lap. “What’d you want to talk about?” 

“Oh,” she said. “Right.” Betty set her teacup down after taking a small sip. “I wanted to make sure that everything was okay between us,” she said. “You know, after everything that happened in first year.” 

“Of course we’re good, Betty,” Jughead replied. “Why wouldn’t we be?” 

“I don’t know,” she replied softly. “I just… I wanted to make sure… We haven’t talked since.” 

“I didn’t think you wanted me around,” Jughead admitted. 

“I wanted you around, Jug,” she stated a little louder than she intended. “I really did… but my parents didn’t…” 

“It’s okay, Betty. Really.” 

“But it’s not!” she said. “I got onto the quidditch team and just… ignored you--” 

“You had other things to think about--” 

“But that’s not okay,” she replied. “I don’t want you feeling like you’re… I don’t know… second rate.” 

“Don’t you remember what I told you about my dad? I’m used to it, it’s okay--” 

_ “No, _ Jughead,” she said defensively, making him stop in his tracks. “That is seriously not okay. Not at all. And the last thing I wanted to do was make you feel like that.” 

Jughead stopped and just sat there, shocked. Someone as popular as  _ Betty Cooper _ genuinely cared about how he was being treated. 

“For years, I never stopped telling Reggie to lay off you,” she said softly, looking down at Caramel. “He’s bullied you for years because of what family you were born into and that’s not right… just like how my parents bullied me into taking to their ideals. It’s seriously messed up… and I’m sorry.” 

“It’s alright, Betty,” he replied. 

“I’d like to make it up to you, though,” Betty said, looking up at him. “I want to be friends with you. For real. Like, sit-together-in-class-and-laugh kind of friends.” 

“Seriously?” Jughead asked, unsure as to why someone as drop-dead gorgeous as Betty Cooper would want that. 

“I really mean it, Jug,” she said sincerely. “Today made me realize how much I really did miss your humor and your insights. You’re flat out unique, Jughead Jones. And I do mean that as a compliment.” He chuckled lightly, smiling. “And after all, I should repay you for helping me conjure my patronus today.” 

“That was no trouble, Betty--” 

“No, seriously. You deserve it,” she stated. “After all, you kept up with your end of our promise when I kept up mine.” 

“Which-- oh,” Jughead muttered, remembering the promise to attend all of her quidditch matches if she ever got the seeker position for Gryffindor. “Well… that’s no big deal,” he mumbled, blushing and scratching the back of his neck. He knew he’d gone to all of those matches, but he didn’t know that she had seen him there. 

“It was very comforting, seeing your face in the crowd,” she rambled. “Especially after Reggie was trying to convince everyone that I wasn’t any good and that I should’ve been put in Slytherin again…” 

“He  _ is _ quite the jerk,” Jughead said softly. “I’m sorry he said those things about you, Betty. And I’m even more sorry that he ended up being two-faced… how he changed his view on you after you won the quidditch cup for Gryffindor for the past what? Five years?” Betty blushed this time, giggling. “You’ve done an excellent job, Betty, winning for Gryffindor.” 

“Thank you,” she replied sheepishly, a pink tint on her face. “A lot has changed since we’ve been here, hasn’t it?” 

“Cheers to that,” he replied, lifting his coffee. Betty laughed brightly, doing the same with her tea. “So what brings brave Betty Cooper back?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Well being friends with me means you’re, I don’t know, defying your parents.” 

“You’re not wrong,” Betty said, sipping her tea. “But I don’t care what they think anymore… and it’s like you said during first year: I’m safe from them here. They’re not going to know the difference.” Jughead nodded, looking down at his coffee. “Plus,” she added. “I’ve wanted to be your friend for the last five years…” Jughead’s head snapped up to look at her. “You’re worth the risk, Jug.” His eyebrows raised, not expecting to hear that. She simply smiled at him. 

“So you’re serious about, this right?” Jughead asked. “You want to be friends with the loner that’s second in the class? Has two friends…” 

“No,” she said. “I want to be  _ best friends _ with the loner that’s second in our class and has two friends,” Betty stated. “And before you ask again, I am absolutely serious about this. I know what I’m getting into.” She picked up her teacup and took a sip before putting it down again. “So,” she began. “What did I miss while I was away?” 

**\---**

Eventually they moved to the floor to play wizard’s chess while they held conversation. 

Jughead told Betty all about how he, his mom, and his sister had gotten away from FP Jones (and even told her about the threat that his father had hanging over his head). He told her about Toni, and then he told her about how he’d stayed the summer at Archie’s near London. He told her how he was planning on trying out for quidditch in the chaser position that was open in Ravenclaw. Betty was very excited to hear about that. 

“I’m really happy that you’re  _ chasing _ your dream,” she said, trying too obviously to muffle her laughter at her own joke. 

“Betty, noooo,” he groaned, unable to keep himself from laughing. They both burst out into a fit of giggles for a few moments before they only smiled at each other. “So what have you been up to, Cooper?” he asked. “Besides being brave and stepping out to be my friend.” 

“Bleh, my parents,” she replied. “They suck.” 

“Oh, Merlin, what’d they do?” he asked, concerned. 

“Bloody pureblood dragon dung,” she spat. “They’re too pretentious, acting like the Coopers are all high and mighty because we got out with the Death Eaters when we could. Truth is, we’re no better than anyone else,” she sighed. “Charles got to be Head Boy three years back, and then Polly was Head Girl last year… and now they’re putting all this pressure on me to get that too. They weren’t happy with my single E in Arithmancy, even though it’s a difficult class at any level and even though I had the best scores in our class…” she trailed off. “It’s just a mess.” 

“So after they reacted that way, you figured you’d go behind their back and be friends with me just to rub it in their faces,” Jughead concluded. 

“That’s only a very small part of it,” she replied. “I promise I really do want to be friends with you, Jughead. I only realized that my parents are full of dragon shit, which means that everything they’ve ever put in my head is dragon shit too… so I decided I’d give them a taste of their own medicine, more or less.” 

“I commend you, Betty,” he said. 

“Really?” 

“Yeah. Your parents  _ suck. _ Like, royally.” 

“I’m not trying to rub this in their face, though--” 

“I know,” he interrupted, assuring her. “And I think that’s the best part. You’re just living your life. Who are they to stop you from being an individual?” 

Betty smiled then, the skin around her eyes crinkling a little. He could see the brightness in her glorious eyes magnified, and he could sense that she was almost glowing as she sat before him. 

“Checkmate,” she said, smiling wider. 

“Well, shit,” Jughead replied, coming out of his daze, the Muggle curse rolling off his tongue. “Another round?” 

“I’d love to, Jug, but we really  _ should _ get going back to our dormitories,” Betty replied, glancing at her watch. 

“I guess you’re right,” he replied, standing up with her. They walked side by side to the large double doors, Caramel just behind them. They stopped just in front of the door knob and Betty picked up Caramel, holding the cat in her arms. 

“I’ll see you in class tomorrow, Jug,” she said, smiling. 

Jughead couldn’t help but notice how purely beautiful Betty was when she was happy. She was radiating light, even in the middle of the night. And somehow - Jughead couldn’t figure it out - her green irises were reflecting the pale moonlight coming from the windows. 

“Y-Yeah,” he stuttered softly. “Tomorrow.” She giggled, looking at her feet for half a second before looking back up at him. 

“Good luck with quidditch, too,” she added. “Even though I’m going to keep saying that until the day of.” It was Jughead’s turn to chuckle softly. 

“Thank you.” 

“Bye, I guess,” she whispered, opening the door. 

“Bye,” he replied simply, letting the door close in front of him (he was giving Betty a headstart so they wouldn’t be caught together at this hour). He sighed with a smile on his face, pulling his beanie off of his head. 

Beaming to himself and only himself, he raked a hand through his obsidian locks, trying to comprehend the last hour and a half. They were friends again, but for real this time. Betty wasn’t letting her parents get in the way of who she was, and she didn’t care about any sort of consequences when it came to being friends with him. 

Jughead could have spun in circles and squealed like a child, but he instead pulled his beanie over his head again, making his way out of the Room of Requirement and back to Ravenclaw Tower. 

**\---**

Betty had truly meant what she said about being friends with Jughead for real. 

The next day, on their way to their first classes (Care of Magical Creatures for Jughead and Arithmancy for Betty), Jughead spotted Betty in the hall while he was talking to Archie. The teenage boys were leaning against a wall near the courtyard when Jughead caught the blonde from down the hall. She had a brilliant smile on her face, locking arms with Cheryl Blossom, Veronica Lodge on Cheryl’s other arm. Betty was on their side, spotting them in return. Archie’s head whipped around to see the three girls, happy as could be. 

As they made their presence known in the hall, students parted for them. Betty kept her eyes on Jughead and Archie as she passed them, smiling and waving as her perfectly curled blonde ponytail whipped back and forth behind her head, held up by that same pale pink ribbon. 

Jughead felt his ears burst into flames when she smiled at him, beaming back and returning her wave. Archie did the same from Jughead’s side as they passed. When the girls’ backs were to them, Jughead let go of a breath he didn’t know he was holding, watching them go. 

He also noted, at that time, that Betty didn’t give anyone else the time of day. Reggie, Moose, and Chuck all tried to get her attention separately, but she didn’t even look in their direction. Jughead chuckled when Reggie looked a little distressed at that, but - not wanting to get into an altercation with the jock before classes had even begun - Jughead simply pulled Archie along to Care of Magical Creatures, the boys having a lively conversation as they made their way to Professor Hagrid’s hut. 

Betty didn’t only acknowledge him now, but she chose to pair up with Jughead in all of their NEWT classes, sometimes turning down her own friends and fellow Gryffindors. Jughead had done the same, turning down Toni a few times and Archie twice so he could pair up with the blonde. Sooner rather than later, Betty was studying with him for their classes, sometimes alongside Archie and Toni as well. She and Jughead made each other laugh like no one else could in class. They talked a lot about quidditch over games of wizard’s chess, Toni or Archie often nearby. Betty sometimes came over to the Ravenclaw table for breakfast (she acknowledged how risky it would be for Jughead to sit anywhere near Reggie unless it was at a different table completely), having conversations with Jughead and Toni about random things or sometimes just comparing homework. They often walked together to class, staying side by side as they talked about this and that. 

On one occasion Jughead and Betty walked together from Potions class to Defense Against the Dark Arts, Jughead had forgotten what day it was. It felt like a normal day, but it also felt like he was forgetting something. Walking next to Betty after she brought up how quidditch tryouts were the next day, he forgot what he’d forgotten. Until… 

“Jug?” Betty asked delicately. Jughead faced her, still walking next to her. 

“Yes, Betty?” he replied. She stepped closer to him. 

“Why didn’t you tell me it was your birthday?” Betty asked softly. Jughead’s stomach dropped. 

_ That’s what I forgot, _ he thought, almost turning pale at the idea.  _ And that’s why Jelly ran up and hugged me without reason during breakfast this morning. _

“Did I-- Oh, I’m sorry,” she whispered, putting her hand on his forearm. “Archie told me you hated your birthday. I’m sorry I asked--” 

“It’s okay,” he blurted out, stopping them both. “You didn’t know to what extent. He’s right, I  _ do _ really hate my birthday, but only Archie and Toni really know why.” 

“You’re not mad for bringing it up?” she asked, evidently disappointed in herself for pushing too far. 

“If it were anyone else I would be,” he admitted. “But you’re one of my three best friends… so no. I’m not mad.” 

“I’m sorry, again…” 

“It’s okay, I promise,” he whispered back. “Let’s let it go, okay?” Betty nodded, letting go of Jughead’s arm as they started walking to Professor Slughorn’s class again. 

Jughead kinda wished she hadn’t done that… taken her hand away. Her palm had a unique warmth to it that he couldn’t put his finger on. That unique warmth had vanished the moment she retracted her hand, and Jughead longed to feel it again. 

During Potions (and for the rest of the day, if he were being honest), Jughead couldn’t get his mind off of how gentle Betty’s touch was. She was so much of a balm for him that she continued to make him smile throughout the day, just by being herself. Sometimes she’d ramble on about something for a few seconds and Jughead found himself unable to look away, unable to erase the smile on his face. When Betty would look up and see him smiling, she’d freeze and immediately flush bright red before apologizing. 

He couldn’t take his eyes off of her, even at dinner. He purposefully sat so that he was facing the Gryffindor table that night. Betty had her back to him, but he didn’t mind looking her while she had a conversation with Archie. 

“Hey,” Toni snapped, gaining his attention again. His head turned to meet Toni’s gaze. 

“Sorry,” he replied, coming out of his daze. “What was that?” 

“I was just saying that quidditch tryouts are tomorrow and there’s not supposed to be that much competition for the open positions,” she said matter-of-factly. “You, meanwhile, have your head in the clouds. Mounted your broom already, have you, Jones?” 

“No,” he replied rather snarkily. “Just… tired.” 

“You better get a good night’s rest, then,” she said. Jughead didn’t have time to roll his eyes before a few owls came swooping into the Great Hall. Just as always, Jughead looked up to the enchanted roof, watching the birds soar overhead. 

Jughead spotted Hot Dog, and he scowled. He hated his birthday, even after most of the past was behind him now. If his mom had written some sort of sappy card he might as well have--

“Well hello there, HD,” Toni greeted the bird as it gently perched on Jughead’s shoulder, ruffling its feathers against Jughead’s head and hat. 

“Oh, enough of that, you sentimental bird,” Jughead groveled, taking the parcel from the snowy owl. He gave Hot Dog a large chunk of salmon before he hooted softly and flew away. “Bloody bird.” 

Looking back at his plate, Jughead found not one letter, but two of them. The first was a card from his mother, subtly wishing him a happy birthday and an apology that she had gotten the card out so late. The second looked to be a handwritten note on a good-sized scrap of parchment. 

** _9:00 PM. The kitchens. Tickle the pear. Be there. _ **

“Huh,” Jughead whispered. “That’s odd.” 

“What’s odd?” Toni asked, looking over at the note. “Oh. You’re right.” 

“I guess that means I should definitely not--” 

“--should definitely go,” Toni interrupted him, overlapping his words and disagreeing with him. 

“Do you want me getting my ass kicked or something?” Jughead asked. “This sounds like a setup.” 

“It’s in the  _ kitchens, _ Jughead,” she replied. “There’s elves in there. Too many witnesses for Mantle or Mason to try and kick your ass.” Jughead rolled his eyes, realizing Toni was right. “Plus, there’s food, even if someone doesn’t show up.” 

“True,” he stated, nodding and smirking a little. Toni knew too well that the way to his heart was through food. “But just in case…” he began. “I could use some backup.” 

“I’ll go with you,” Toni said, rolling her eyes. “Not that you truly need my protection--” 

“Your bat-bogey hex is unstoppable, T,” Jughead interrupted. “I trust no one else to hit Reggie with that than you, Topaz.” 

“Very well. The kitchens at 9.” 

That night, Jughead and Toni worked on their homework for Transfiguration and Charms together, silently waiting for the common room to clear enough for them to sneak out to the kitchens. They took their wands with them when they left at a quarter till 9, walking down the stairs slowly and quietly. They didn’t want to disturb anything. 

Eventually, they found their way into the dungeons, where the kitchens were. He found the portrait of a bowl of fruit on the alternate side of the hallway from a few stacks of barrels, which - as Toni pointed out to him - was the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room. Rolling his eyes and finding the pear in the bowl, Jughead tickled the fruit on the portrait for a moment before the door swung open, revealing the kitchens. 

It was dark inside as Jughead checked his watch. He was right on time… so this obviously had to be a set-up, his anxiety told him. He walked inside first, Toni right behind him… and then the lights turned on. 

“Happy birthday!” Betty and Archie cheered, along with the kitchen elves, as they popped up from behind a kitchen island. Jughead jumped almost a foot in the air at that, backing up. 

“Merlin, guys,” he said. “You really didn’t have to--” 

“We made you a cake,” Archie interrupted. Betty elbowed him sharply. The ginger winced and rubbed his side.  _ “Betty _ made you a cake,” he corrected. 

“Cake?” he asked, suddenly intrigued by the food. 

“It’s small, just for the four of us, but it’s the least I could do,” Betty said, smiling. 

“Toni, you were in on this?!” Jughead asked, spinning around. She shrugged. 

“Duh, doofus,” she replied. “But I can’t take credit. It was Cooper’s idea.” Jughead looked over at the blonde. She blushed and smiled, looking down at her feet. 

“And Archie told you it was my birthday--” 

“If you’re mad, I’m sorry,” he said immediately. “But Betty’s one of your good friends now too and I thought she should know.” 

“It’s okay, Arch,” Jughead said. “Anyways… where’s this cake I’ve heard about?” 

“Oh!” Betty gasped, running behind a corner, then reappearing with a small chocolate cake, truly only big enough for the four of them. “Here it is.” She smiled triumphantly, knowing that she’d done a good job. 

“Merlin’s pants, that looks good,” he almost moaned. “But _NO_ _SINGING!”_ Jughead clarified, looking among his three friends to see them nodding. 

“Bloody hell, Jug, we  _ know,” _ Toni groaned as they congregated around the kitchen island. “Just cut the damn cake already.” Jughead stuck his tongue out at her, taking the knife from Betty and cutting the chocolate cake into four equal pieces. After that, the four teenagers sat around, laughing and talking (and eating the cake, of course). Archie had brought his exploding snap set, so they played together. 

Eventually, Toni had to go back to Ravenclaw tower, claiming she had a Muggle Studies test the next day and Archie left early too so he could finish his Herbology homework. Betty and Jughead were left in the kitchens sitting next to each other, a butterbeer each placed in their hands. It was peacefully quiet as they sat together, sipping the sweet beverage periodically. It got Jughead thinking. 

“Thank you, Betty,” he whispered after a while. Her head snapped towards him. “This is most definitely the best birthday I’ve ever had.” 

“It was no problem, really. I don’t do anything I don’t want to do,” she stated. 

“I think I already knew that,” Jughead replied, smiling. Betty beamed back at him, laughing softly for a moment before her face relaxed once more. 

“If you don’t mind me asking…” she began, placing her palm flat on the ground in the space between them. “Why don’t you like your birthday?” Jughead sighed. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t--” 

“No, I think you have the right to know,” he replied. “You already know what happened with my family on my fifth birthday…” Betty nodded. “The aurors raided our home during my birthday party… and after that it just became the day that the Joneses lost their credibility. It was everything I’d ever known and it was taken away from my family in the blink of an eye… my dad became a drunk, as I told you, and he doesn’t care about anything anymore besides the gang he created, which is dragon shit to say the least… but my mom - even though I love her so much - tries to act like everything’s okay. Like we can seem to have that day to forget about what we’ve lost but…” 

“But then she’s just putting on a show and pretending to be okay when things aren’t,” Betty completed for him when he couldn’t find the right words. Jughead nodded. 

“Jellybean still likes to acknowledge it subtly without drawing any attention to what’s actually going on,” he added. “That’s a much better way to go about it, in my opinion… even though that cake you made was  _ definitely _ the best thing I’ve ever tasted,” he added. 

“That’s very nice of you to say, Jughead,” she said softly, blushing and taking a sip of butterbeer. “I hope this very small get together was a nice occurence for you.” 

“It was,” he assured her. “Thank you. For all of it.” She smiled softly at him. “I think this is my favorite birthday ever.” 

“I’m glad to hear it,” Betty replied, grinning wider. 

The next morning was Ravenclaw quidditch tryouts. Toni and Jughead were up early and they were a few of the first people on the pitch. Not far behind them were a few spectators: Betty, Archie, and Jellybean. They waved energetically to the two sleepy Ravenclaws, and they both smiled and waved back, happy for their support. Veronica Lodge and Cheryl Blossom came out to the pitch later with nothing to do and chatted away with Betty… but they couldn’t keep her from watching Jughead zoom around the pitch, scoring goal after goal after goal. 

Jughead and Toni would deny it later out of modesty, but they were the two best players trying out. Jughead had to force himself to look away from Betty as much as possible so he wouldn’t be distracted by the blonde beauty cheering him on. He didn’t show off, but he showed out. Dilton Doiley, also trying out for the chaser position, had been distracted by the beautiful Gryffindor seeker twelve too many times, allowing Jughead to get a fast one by his competitor, ultimately crushing him. Dilton fell off his broom twice when Betty’s green eyes even glanced in his direction. Needless to say, Jughead was still a great player, and he ended up getting the spot. 

Toni, on the other hand, outraced Ben Button for the golden snitch fourteen out of fourteen times. What made it worse for Ben was the fact that he was flying a Mantle Maple broom while Toni was using one of the school-owned ones… needless to say, the seventh-year quidditch captain knew that if Topaz could outdo someone on a school broom, she could outdo nearly everyone. Toni took the second spot, filling the team. 

The next weekend was a Hogsmeade weekend for sixth and seventh years, so Betty dragged Jughead along with Archie and Toni down to the small wizarding town. They were bundled in their Muggle clothing under their plain black cloaks as they braved the already snow-covered cobblestone streets. Toni and Betty were on either side of Jughead, Archie on Betty’s alternate side. They talked and laughed as they walked, all in wonder at the beauty that was Hogsmeade… except for Jughead. 

Jughead was too focused on how right the Gryffindor scarf wrapped around Betty’s neck suited her, how he wanted to warm up her nose that was red because of the cold. He couldn’t stop thinking about how he would surely hand over his cloak in an instant if she even stated that the cold air was nipping at her shoulders or arms. When they had ventured inside Honeyduke’s, Jughead watched as Betty scoured through the candy… but he couldn’t help but think that Betty was sweeter than the sugar quills she was fawning over. He was snapped out of all of it, however, when she came over to him, telling him that she was buying him some sugar quills and two chocolate frogs. 

“Betty, seriously, you don’t need to spend any money on me,” he protested. 

“Consider it a late birthday present,” she offered, smiling that smile she knew would defeat him. 

“The cake was enough,” he added, trying to hold on to his argument. 

“I’m doing it anyways and you’re going to like it,” she stated, pointing a finger at him and poking his arm with it. 

“You really don’t need to, Betty,” he said again. 

“I think you know me well enough by now to know that I don’t do anything that I don’t want to, Jones,” she stated, unwilling to back down. Jughead had to surrender at that, motioning to the cash register at the back of the store. Her lips curled up into a smile and then she skipped away. 

_ Remind me to never cross Betty Cooper, _ he thought to himself, smirking as she paid for the sugar quills and chocolate frogs. Even though he still tried to refuse them as the group of four made their way towards the Three Broomsticks, Betty shoved them into his hand, making sure he pocketed them before she turned back into her joyful self again. 

Jughead opened the door of the Three Broomsticks, holding it until Betty, Archie, and Toni were finally inside. Betty grabbed a table after ordering four butterbeers for them from Pop Tate and Madam Rosmerta. She skipped back to the table the rest of them were sitting at, taking the empty seat between Jughead and Archie. 

“So what did I miss?” Betty asked, looking between them after the butterbeers were distributed. “Wait, hold on that. I need to use the bathroom.” 

“Same,” Toni replied, standing up. The blonde and pink-haired teenagers had almost left when Archie spoke up. 

“Why do girls always go to the bathroom together?” he asked Jughead stupidly. They whipped around and laughed. 

“Arch, have you ever met Moaning Myrtle?” Betty asked, smiling. 

“No,” he said. His eyes widened and he turned to Jughead. “Should I know who that is?” 

“Archie, she’s literally the girl that died when the Chamber of Secrets opened for the first time,” Jughead groaned. “She went to the bathroom by herself and ended up dead. That’s why girls go to the bathroom together.” 

“Wait seriously?” Archie asked, looking between Toni, Betty, and Jughead. Toni rolled her eyes, pulling Betty along with her towards the bathroom. Jughead facepalmed. 

“Archie, we literally learned about this in History of Magic,” he almost groaned. “Did you sleep through that class or something.” 

“ _ Yes,” _ Archie said. “Just like everyone else.” 

“I didn’t. And I doubt Betty did,” Jughead replied. “It’s really not that bad--” 

“Okay, this conversation is boring,” Archie interrupted. “I’ve got something better.” 

“Alright, Arch,” Jughead said, wanting to claw off his face. He had a feeling that Archie was going to start talking about whatever flexing contest he’d lost against Moose or something. “What is it?” he asked, taking a sip of butterbeer. 

“This stays between us, okay?” Archie turned his voice into a whisper. Jughead nodded, rolling his eyes as if he wasn’t going to keep his best friend’s secret. “I’m just going to say it,” Archie began as Jughead took another gulp of butterbeer into his mouth. “I have a crush on Betty.” 

Jughead almost choked, trying to keep the butterbeer in his mouth. When the shock dissipated a little, Jughead was able to swallow. 

“I’m sorry. You  _ what?” _ Jughead asked.  _ But I like Betty,  _ he thought.  _ I don’t have a chance in hell if Archie goes for her.  _

“I like Betty… more than just a friend,” Archie said. “And I think I’m ready to take my friendship with Betty to the next level.” Jughead felt any hope he had for a relationship with Betty vanish. “I know that you and Betty have become good friends over the past month, so I just wanted to make sure that you were okay with me… asking her on a date.” 

Jughead was still too shocked to function. 

“Uh… I mean, I don’t mind,” he lied (because he did actually care though he wasn’t ready to make a move). 

“I’ve heard Reggie and Moose talking… a lot… about Betty… and I want to take her on a date or something before they have the chance to,” Archie explained. “I’ve seen the way Chuck looks at her too. Trev and Dilton almost faint every time she says hi to them… I just want to make my move and I wanted to make sure everything would be okay between us if I did that.” 

Truth be told, Jughead didn’t want to say that he was okay with this idea. He’d only so recently realized that he liked Betty… but then reality kicked in. Betty was a popular, beautiful, amazing girl. If Jughead was honest with himself, he’d never be good enough for her. That’s just how popularity worked. He might be on Ravenclaw’s quidditch team now, but he had to remember who he was and who everyone thought he was: the son of FP Jones Jr, the grandson of a Death Eater. Getting the girl of his dreams? Out of the question. Not happening. Someone like Betty deserved someone who didn’t have such public issues with their family… she deserved someone good like Archie… and he figured it was only a matter of time before Archie had noticed what he did. He sighed, gripping the bottle of butterbeer in his hand. 

“Yeah,” Jughead said, a hint of disappointment in his voice that went unnoticed by Archie. “Go ahead, Archie.” 

“Thanks, Jug,” Archie said. 

“But just so you know,” Jughead began. “Betty’s her own person. Don’t do anything stupid or she’ll make a fool of you.” 

“I know well enough, Jug,” Archie replied. “Betty doesn’t just put up with someone like Reggie for six years without making him look like and idiot every once in a while.”

Just then, Betty and Toni emerged from where the bathrooms were. Archie visibly stiffened, anticipating Betty’s return. 

“This conversation never happened,” he whispered to Jughead just before Betty and Toni sat back down. For the rest of the day, Jughead put on a facade… one that wouldn’t show his disappointment in how Archie would soon be dating Betty Cooper… rather than him dating Betty Cooper. 

**\---**

Two days later on Monday morning, Jughead was walking with Betty to their Transfiguration class when Betty stopped suddenly on the stairs and turned around. Jughead went up a few more stairs before he noticed his blonde best friend wasn’t next to him. He turned, seeing Betty stilled on the stairs first, then seeing Archie all the way at the bottom of the stairs, and finally there was nearly half of the school behind him. 

“Betty!” he called. This got most of the attention of the crowd below. Many of them stopped, wanting to see what was about to happen. 

“Yeah, Arch?” she asked. “What’s wrong?” It was uncommon for Betty and Jughead to really get stopped on the way to class, so Jughead watched on, leaning against the wall and confused. Archie took a few more steps, standing a little below the blonde. 

“Nothing,” he said, smiling. “I just wanted to ask you something.” 

Now, the entire crowd that had been headed towards class had stopped, watching as Archie and Betty spoke. Jughead, knowing exactly what was about to happen, sighed, trying to accept his fate by rolling his eyes. 

“Well spit it out, Archie, I’m going to be late to Transfiguration,” Betty encouraged. Archie sighed. 

“Well… we’ve been friends for a long while…” Archie rambled on for a while, nervous and fumbling with his hands. “I was wondering if you…” Jughead, sensing that the other shoe was about to drop, turned and continued to go up the stairs slowly. “I was wondering if you’d want to go out with me.” 

Jughead winced at those words, pausing on the stairs. He was about to take another step, when-- 

“Archie…” she gasped. “I… I  _ can’t.” _

Jughead’s eyes widened and he inhaled sharply, spinning around. Much of the crowd began murmuring back and forth. They obviously hadn’t expected Betty to turn down Archie. 

“W-What?” Archie asked. 

“I can’t, Archie,” she repeated. “We’re just friends… that’s all I want to be with you…” 

_ Holy dragon bogies, _ Jughead thought to himself, letting his jaw slack. 

“Just… Archie… Please don’t take it the wrong way,” Betty pleaded. “I love you, but as a  _ friend. _ I’ll always love you as a friend.” Archie, now looking like a downtrodden puppy, looked up and smiled weakly. 

“Really?” 

“Yeah, really, Arch,” she replied then checked her watch. “Look, I’ve got to get to class. I’ll see you at lunch, okay?” 

“Okay,” he said, turning around and trudging down the stairs. Veronica Lodge met him at the bottom of the stairs from what Jughead could tell while Betty walked towards him. Realizing the blonde was close, Jughead’s jaw snapped to its normal position and he stood up a little straighter. 

“Sorry about that,” she said, smiling at him. “Transfiguration?” 

“Transfiguration,” he repeated as they continued up the stairs. 

Jughead didn’t know it at that time, but that day began a series of events that would be repeated several times. A week after Archie asked Betty out, she and Jughead were on their way into Defense Against the Dark Arts when Reggie called Betty’s name, making her stop and turn around just as she was about to go into the classroom with Jughead. Rolling his eyes, Jughead walked over to the doorway, leaning against the stone wall and watching the interaction. 

Once again, most of the student body of Hogwarts was watching as Reggie Mantle approached the blonde goddess that was Betty Cooper. From Jughead’s perspective, Reggie looked a little too confident, a little too smug and self-absorbed.    
  


“Hey, Cooper,” Reggie said suavely, leaning against the wall on the other edge of the doorway, propped on his hand and blocking Betty from going to class. Jughead rolled his eyes as Reggie ran his tongue over his lips, evidently trying to gain Betty’s attention. He glared at the Gryffindor chaser as he towered over Betty in a non-threatening way, though it made Jughead tense. 

“Mantle,” Betty replied. “Come to schedule quidditch practice?” 

“No, actually, baby Coop,” he said. “Came to ask you a question.” 

“Make it quick.” 

“You, me, the Three Broomsticks. Saturday,” Reggie offered. “What do you say?” 

“Do you need tutoring or something?” Betty asked, making Jughead chuckle softly among the crowd that had gathered. Reggie looked a little annoyed. 

“No, Coop, on a date.” After he said that, Jughead watched as Reggie leaned down and whispered something into Betty’s ear. Jughead saw Betty stiffen as Reggie pulled away smugly. He wanted to jump in and defend her… but he knew damn well that Betty Cooper didn’t need anyone to step into her battles. After another second, Betty was still just standing there. Jughead thought he could see steam coming out of her ears, evidently enraged. 

A sharp slap echoed through the hall and Jughead’s face dropped. Reggie stumbled back, holding a hand to his cheek and lip. He pulled his hand away and Jughead saw that there was a bright pink handprint forming on Reggie’s cheek, the side of his lip was split. The entire hallway froze, looking on at Betty and Reggie. 

“You’re a pig,” she spat. “What about that should make me think that you’re any better for me than a bloody dementor, Mantle?” she growled.

An  _ ooh _ resounded among the crowd as Betty spun around and entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, fuming. Jughead couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Reggie had been utterly destroyed. Just as he was coming down from his laughing fit, Jughead looked forward and saw the teenager in question, very angry that he’d just been publicly humiliated and then laughed at by one of his least favorite people in the world. 

“What, you think that’s funny, Jones?!” he barked, making Jughead step back as his back hit the wall behind him. 

“Just a bit, Mantle,” Jughead challenged. “Can’t take the heat?” 

That was the breaking point for Reggie. He grabbed Jughead by his robes, lifting him up, and slamming him into the wall just beside the doorway. His head rocked forward, then smacked against the stone wall. The crowd gathered was now chanting for a fight as Reggie held him there, squirming and trying to get out of the teenager’s grip. 

“REGINALD MANTLE, PUT. HIM. DOWN,” Betty demanded. Jughead looked over, seeing that she’d stepped out of the door, fists clenched, knuckles white, face bright red, and daggers in her green eyes. She was furious. She’d been pushed to her breaking point. If one more person were to push her that day, Jughead hoped Betty and Merlin had mercy on their soul. 

Reggie let go of Jughead’s shirt and sweater, letting him land in a pile on the floor. Betty began walking towards Jughead and Reggie backed away. Silently, the blonde pulled Jughead up, dusted him off a little, then motioned for him to enter the classroom, which he did. He knew that Betty was glaring down Reggie as he entered the classroom mostly unharmed. She followed in behind him protectively, making sure he wasn’t touched as he made his way to his seat. Jughead tried to make sure Betty was okay afterwards, but she stayed quiet and close to him, evidently not ready to talk about it. 

After that, the cycle just continued. 

Moose asked Betty out the next day during quidditch practice and Betty turned him down because she wasn’t interested, but Midge was. 

Chuck Clayton, all of the Gryffindor guys out of the way, asked Betty out, but she declined, claiming girl code: Veronica had gone out with him during their previous year and Betty wasn’t about to betray one of her longest-lasting friends. 

Trev Brown actually managed to get Betty to go with him to Hogsmeade two weeks later, but Betty had been under the impression that they were just going as friends… so Betty ended up rejecting him in the Three Broomsticks. 

On the way to class a few days later, Jughead and Betty came across a blubbering Dilton Doiley. It turned out that he was trying to ask Betty on a date… but he fainted before he even finished his question. Dilton never spoke of the occurrence again. 

Jughead would be lying if he didn’t say that the few weeks where Betty was getting asked out seemed to make his situation a bit more mortifying. Seeing Archie, Reggie, Moose, Chuck, Trev, and Dilton all get turned down made Jughead afraid of having the same fate. He’d noticed Archie hanging around them less after he’d been rejected, but he eventually came back. Reggie was still mad about Betty slapping him after refusing to go on a date with him. Moose eventually asked Midge out, so he’d moved on. Chuck was silently discontented. Trev seemed less jovial, and Dilton didn’t even acknowledge passing out in front of Betty Cooper… 

Meanwhile, Jughead was still pining. He still had a crush on Betty, but he wasn’t bold enough to even think about making a move. After no less than six people in their year had died trying on the front lines, Jughead determined that he’d rather be best friends with Betty than have to do what Archie did (it was a little hard to get him back on his feet, but he managed to help him). Even if he thought Betty would never want to go on a date with him, he knew that he’d never be accepted by her family. Jughead didn’t have a bloody chance if he were thinking that way… though he didn’t stop pining for her.

Their friendship flourished during that time, and it seemed as if Jughead was the only guy in their year that Betty wanted to be around. They were almost always studying together, whether it was in the library, sitting under a tree with the leaves changing colors, or in the Room of Requirement. Sometimes they would meet there just to relax after long days and play wizard’s chess and drink tea. 

Besides Veronica and Cheryl, Jughead was the only other person that knew the intimacies of the Cooper household. Over tea and wizard’s chess at night, Betty would tell him about letters she received from her parents, often about stupid things and their expectations for her. Jughead had interacted with Veronica and Cheryl on a few occasions after Betty had introduced her longest-lasting friends to him. Cheryl was a little wary at first, but eventually learned to get over it, and Veronica had once told him sternly to never hurt Betty, but besides that she was friendly. 

Later that night, Betty told Jughead that Cheryl was interested in Toni, and that Cheryl’s orientation was very under wraps because Betty and Cheryl knew that the Blossoms would never accept it. Jughead remembered that Toni had subtly checked out the fierce redhead one day and then refused to acknowledge that she did. Jughead replied, telling Betty he was pretty sure Toni liked Cheryl back, adding that Toni hadn’t made a move because she was only slightly afraid that Cheryl would tear her to shreds in front of the entire student body. 

“Hah,” Betty replied. “Cheryl has a hard shell at first, but she’s weak for those she loves… and super protective of them, too.” 

“I don’t doubt that,” Jughead said, taking a sip from his teacup. 

“Checkmate,” Betty announced, grinning victoriously. She had his king cornered, nowhere to go. 

“Well… I guess that means we have to go now,” Jughead said. 

“What? Noooo,” she groaned. 

“You were the one that said one more game and then we go. That was the deal.” 

“But Juggg,” she whined, trying to pout. “Please?” 

“If I walk you to your common room, will you go?” he asked, trying to bribe her. She thought about the offer for a moment. 

“I’ll take you up on that, Jones,” she replied, jumping up and standing next to him. Jughead couldn’t help but smile at her giddiness. They walked together down the grey, moonlit halls quietly. 

When they were halfway to the Gryffindor common room, Betty thought she heard someone and pulled them to the side, grasping Jughead’s hand tightly as she did so. They stumbled into a closet, Jughead catching Betty and keeping her upright. Jughead realized as they stilled that he had his arms wrapped all the way around her, pulling her body into his chest protectively as they heard footsteps come and go again. 

Even when he was sure that the person was gone, Jughead held Betty close to him. It was only then that Jughead realized just how warm Betty was, how good it felt to have her this close, reciprocating the hug. 

“Jug?” she asked in a whisper. 

“Yeah, Betty?” 

“You think they’re gone?” 

“Yeah, I think so,” he replied softly, laxing his arms so she could step out of them and open the door. Surprisingly, she kept hold of one of his hands and pulled him into the hallway. Bumping into her shoulder, he couldn’t help but smile a little. 

_ I’m never washing this hand again, _ he thought to himself as she didn’t let go. Her palm felt warm against his, soft and smooth. It was comforting, cathartic. 

They stayed close for the rest of the walk back, heir hands clasped together and their shoulders bumping every so often. Jughead wasn't able to wipe the smile off his face. Popular, pretty, polite Betty Cooper was holding his hand… and wasn’t repulsed by the idea of it. 

_ She’s my best friend, _ Jughead reprimanded himself.  _ Why would she be repulsed? Maybe I’m just too critical of myself.  _

He was just starting to believe that when they rounded a corner and saw the Fat Lady’s portrait. Betty stopped them there, pulling Jughead back. 

“Wh--” 

“She’ll freak if she sees I’ve been out with someone,” Betty cut in and explained. “She promises not to tell when I go on midnight walks, so you’ve got to stay back here, Jug.” 

_ Merlin, she’s even got her House portrait under her spell, _ Jughead thought to himself.  _ That makes two of us. _

“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” Betty asked. Jughead smiled and nodded sincerely. Before he knew what was happening, Betty shot up on her toes, taking his chin in her hand, and stamped a kiss on his cheek. 

Jughead felt his face flush red when she did that. He felt like he was dreaming… 

… and he felt like he was going to faint. 

“Thanks for walking me back,” Betty said as if she hadn’t been fazed by the fact that she just kissed him.  _ HOW ISN’T SHE FAZED-- _ “Bye,” she said quickly, scurrying away and towards her common room. 

As soon as she was gone and Jughead actually had time to process what happened, he fell back against the wall, resting against it as he heard Betty speaking quietly with the Fat Lady. 

“Sweet Merlin,” he muttered under his breath, placing a hand on his crown beanie in shock. “She’s going to be the death of me.” 

Jughead didn’t remember how he got back to his common room without falling over that night. He didn’t even remember crawling into bed… and he didn’t remember sleeping, either…

But, son of a banshee, he remembered lying in bed the next morning with a dragon-shit-eating grin on his face as he remembered it. 

**\---**

Jughead was eating breakfast with Toni the next morning when the owls came. Hot Dog swooped down and perched on Jughead’s shoulder, but he didn’t have any sort of parcel or letter in his claws. He nuzzled against Jughead’s hat and hair, ruffling his feathers against his head. 

“Toni, what in Merlin’s name is he doing?” Jughead aksed. Toni shrugged. 

“Maybe he just wanted to see you, I don’t know,” she replied, in the middle of eating a piece of toast. “Maybe he knows the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw match is Saturday.” 

“Are you truly saying that you think he’s wishing me luck?” Jughead asked rhetorically. “He’s probably trying to get food out of me.” 

“That’s a good point,” Toni added. Jughead looked at the fluffy snowy owl. Hot Dog yawned, ruffling his feathers a little before closing his beady eyes and settling on Jughead’s shoulder with a soft hoot. 

“Well if that isn’t a mood I don’t know what else is,” Betty said, walking up to the Ravenclaw table. Jughead’s face lit up as he spotted the beautiful blonde smiling at him, Hot Dog, and Toni. She let her backpack slip off her shoulders as she sat next to Jughead on the bench. “So this is the infamous bird, huh?” Betty had heard a lot about Hot Dog from Jughead but had never actually met the snowy owl. “He’s cute.” 

“Cute?” Jughead scoffed. “He’s  _ vicious. _ He nips at me until I give him what he wants.” Betty stroked the sleeping owl on its head. Hot Dog opened his eyes, pushing his head into Betty’s hand. 

“He just wants attention, Jug,” Betty said, smiling as Hot Dog continued to behave perfectly for her. Jughead was astounded. How could someone possibly get Hot Dog to behave? Jughead didn’t know a person so good even existed. “Anyways… how are you two feeling about your first quidditch match on Saturday? Should be great! I can’t wait to play Ravenclaw.” 

One of the other amazing things about Betty was how  _ friendly _ she was. She was putting on her dazzling Cooper smile now… but come Saturday morning, Jughead and Toni both knew that Betty would never show either of them mercy. The main reason Betty was such a good quidditch player was because she was so damn _ competitive. _ She once managed to barrel through  _ Moose Mason _ of all people when he got in the way of her catching the golden snitch. If Toni was afraid that Betty would run through her the way that she had to Moose, she hadn’t voiced it. Jughead was, at the least, afraid for his friend. 

“It’s going to be a good time, Cooper,” Toni replied, taking a sip of orange juice. “Don’t give me too much shit out there though,” she chuckled. Betty laughed, smiling. 

“I can only try, Topaz. No promises.” Toni nodded in response, smiling politely. “What about you, Jug? Nervous?” 

“Uhh…  _ duh,” _ he joked, making Betty’s head fall back as she laughed. “As long as I don’t get crushed by Reggie and Moose on Saturday it’s a success, win or lose.” 

“They’re not going to run you over, Jug.” 

“Good joke, Betts. Wanna go tell Reggie that one?” he asked, smiling at her. 

“Okay, I see your point,” Betty said, checking her watch. “We should probably get going to Transfiguration.” 

“You know how I feel about talking about school while I’m eating,” Jughead said to her, finishing off a strip of bacon. 

“You can have my granola bar in Transfiguration if we go now,” Betty offered. 

“With ch--” 

“Yes, it has chocolate chips,” she interrupted, knowing what he was going to ask. 

“Sold,” he said simply, getting up and putting on his bookbag. Betty smiled, shaking her head as she got up. They said a see you later to Toni before they headed towards Professor McGonagall’s classroom, side by side. Betty stayed weirdly close to him all the way down the hall, bumping shoulders with him nearly every step she took. Maybe it was a little too close, but Jughead didn’t mind. He would bump shoulders all day with Betty if he had to. 

But then Chuck Clayton came from around a corner. 

Betty placed a firm hand Jughead’s wrist and yanked him out of the middle of the hall, pulling them both out of the Slytherin’s sight. Jughead was dazed as he almost got slammed into the stone wall… but mostly confused. He eventually got his bearing back and shook out the shock. 

“What the bloody hell  _ was _ that?” he asked, adjusting his beanie. Betty didn’t respond at first, she only looked around. 

“I needed some water,” she said unconvincingly. “I told you, but I guess you didn’t hear me.” Betty walked over the water fountain she’d obviously found very conveniently. Betty Cooper was many things, but a good liar she was not. 

That week, Jughead found himself spending a lot of time with Betty… as in, a lot more time than usual. Sure, the cold brew coffee she made that tasted like chocolate cauldron cakes was  _ heavenly, _ but Jughead couldn’t help but feel as if something was off. They spent a lot of time together - that wasn’t uncommon… but Jughead noticed that Betty stuck with him and then pulled him with her whenever they saw Reggie or Chuck in the hallway. 

He felt like he was being used to shield Betty from Reggie and Chuck. Jughead reasoned that the two teenagers were probably trying to get her to go out with either one of them, making Betty want to avoid that sort of attention… but that didn’t make it any less shocking or surprising when she would pull him out of the middle of the hall or she’d switch sides with him. 

Jughead wanted to ask what was going on but that felt  _ rude. _ After two days of that behavior, Jughead resolved to finally ask. They were going to meet in the Room of Requirement, only two days until the quidditch match… when Jughead was blindsided. 

He was slammed into the wall, his head making contact with the blunt stone. Before he could react, his back was flat against the stone and a fist was coming for his face. Jughead tried to duck, but strong hand held him against the wall. The fist collided with the corner of Jughead’s mouth, leaving a slit in his lower lip, blood dripping down his chin. 

“What the fuck!” Jughead shouted, Muggle curse and all. When he opened his eyes, he saw Reggie Mantle, a dragon-shit-eating grin on his face. Moose Mason was almost single-handedly holding Jughead against the wall, Mad Dog on his other side, one hand on his shoulder to hold him there. 

“Jones, Jones, Jones…” Reggie drawled. “You didn’t think you could just hang out with one of our girls and not pay the consequences, did you?” 

_ Our? Our girls? Betty doesn’t belong to anyone, _ he wanted to say. 

“I beg your pardon?” Jughead sassed. 

“Stay away from Cooper if you know what’s good for you,” he replied. “She’s not like you. You’re not good enough for her, Jones. You really think she wants a disgraced Death Eater hanging around her all the time?” 

“I’m not a bloody Death Eat--” Reggie’s knuckles came in contact with his cheekbone, making Jughead’s head knock back into the wall. Reggie stepped closer, leaving only a small amount of space between them.

“You listen here, Jones, and you listen good,” Reggie said. “Betty. Is. Mine,” he stated. “It’s that simple, really. She’s mine.” 

“She’ll never want you, Mantle,” Jughead growled. “Maybe  _ you’re _ not good enough for her.” 

“You’re really forcing my hand here, Jones, you know that? I didn’t want to have to do this…” Reggie paused, grabbing a fistful of Jughead’s shirt forcefully. “If you don’t stay the hell away from Cooper I’ll make sure you end up flat on the ground during the quidditch match on Saturday,” he threatened. “Mason and Mad Dog over here are the two best beaters in the school. I’d  _ hate _ to have you sent to St. Mungo’s because you can’t stay away from a  _ girl _ when we tell you to.” He stopped again. “I will have Moose ground you into  _ pumpkin pulp _ if you don’t leave Betty for me.” 

“Is that a bloody threat, Mantle?” Jughead asked bravely, holding himself high and standing as strongly as he could. He  _ hated _ it when Reggie demeaned the females in their year… especially Betty. He grit his teeth angrily. 

“It’s whatever you want it to be,” Reggie said. “Stay away and you don’t have to worry about it, Jones. Simple as that.” He crossed his arms, stepping back from Jughead and grinning triumphantly. “So… what are you gonna do, Jones?” 

“I’ll let you know what I choose unless you can figure it out yourself,  _ Mantle, _ ” Jughead spat. “Now let me go.” 

“Very well,” Reggie replied, waving his hand. Mad Dog and Moose released Jughead, heading the opposite direction. 

Jughead just stood there for a minute, slumping back against the cool stone. He sighed, running his thumb over his split lip and looking at it. He was definitely bleeding there, but there could have been a cut on his cheekbone. He didn’t care enough to check at the moment, instead heading towards the Room of Requirement. 

Betty was probably going to be worried sick about him. She always was. After he’d almost fallen asleep in History of Magic, she made him that cold brew coffee that tasted like chocolate cauldron cakes. She always offered him any extra food off her plate. She was always willing to help him with homework when he needed it. She was always down to play wizard’s chess and drink tea with him after dinner most days. She’d even offered to show him a few quidditch moves she’d learned by watching the Gryffindor chasers. She was an angel in a house of brutes, a light in the darkness… a light in  _ his _ darkness. 

He wondered why he hadn’t just asked her out yet. She was denying all of these sturdy, objectively good-looking, popular guys.  _ Why? _ He didn’t know. Betty was unreadable most of the time when it came to things like that. Jughead couldn’t ever tell what she was thinking, but he could tell how she was feeling quite easily. She was always unafraid when she was asked out by her classmates, even though she turned all of them down… but Jughead could never tell why, and that was the mystery of Betty Cooper. 

When he arrived at the Room of Requirement, Jughead saw that Betty had already conjured the room for them, making the room accessible to him. Jughead couldn’t help but smirk a bit as he opened the door and stepped inside. The heavy wooden door closed audibly and Jughead watched Betty jump out of her chair at the sound. She turned and saw him, a smile on her face… but that quickly changed into a concerned gaze. 

_ “Juggie,” _ she said, running over to him. Jughead watched her pad over, Caramel behind her. Betty immediately placed her hands on his shoulders and slid them down his arms. “What happened?” she asked, reaching up and cupping his face in her palms as her soft fingers touched his face lightly. He winced when her thumb ran over the cheekbone that was most likely bruised. “Who did this to you?” she whispered brokenly, looking into his eyes. Her green irises bore into his and pulled him into reality, remembering his primary purpose in meeting with her. 

“What’s going on with you, Betty?” he asked. She shook her head, confused. 

“You come in here, bruised and bleeding, and the thing you’re concerned about is me?” she asked, laughing once. “You’re crazy, Jughead Jones,” Betty added, stroking his bruised cheek with her delicate thumb. “Tell me what happened. Please?” she coaxed. 

“I saw Reggie in the hall,” Jughead admitted, letting his concern pass. “Just quidditch dragon shit.” 

“I never got caught up in any rivalry between Houses,” Betty admitted, pulling out her wand and closing up the cuts on his face. “I get caught up in the competition of the game itself.” Jughead hissed when he felt the cuts heal. Betty simply stroked his cheek after the spell was done, rubbing away the pain. “I’m sorry, it stings a bit. I should have warned you.” 

“Seriously, Betty,” Jughead said, taking her hand off his face and pulling it down. He held her hand, keeping her palm away from his face. He’d get distracted if she kept doing that. “What’s going on with you?” 

“I really don’t know what you mean,” she replied, giving his hand a squeeze. “Could you be more specific, Jug?” 

“Are you using me to keep other guys away?” Jughead asked bluntly. Betty looked shocked. “Like Reggie? And Chuck?” 

“Of course not, you’re my--” 

“Your best friend?” he asked. 

“Well, actually, I wanted to ask you if--” 

“You’re keeping yourself busy with me whenever you don’t want to have to reject Chuck and Reggie again!” 

“I’m not--” she began, but he cut her off. 

“I’m done being your shield.” 

“You’re not a bloody  _ shield _ to me, Jug, you’re--” 

“Your parents were right,” he said harshly, making Betty stop in her tracks. Her entire mood switched instantly. 

“About  _ what _ exactly, may I ask?” she stated angrily, her eyebrows lowered in fury. 

“You really shouldn’t be friends with a Jones, so why don’t you just go back to your rich parents, rich cousin, and rich girl best friend?!” Jughead asked, making Betty’s jaw drop. “You don’t need someone like me holding you down!” 

When Betty didn’t respond immediately, Jughead knew he went too far. She stepped back, shaking her head and letting their hands drop. She scoffed, turning and picking up Caramel as she sniffled. Jughead instantly knew he needed to apologize, so he stepped forward. 

“Wait, Betty, I’m-- I didn’t--” Betty stood to her full height and choked out a single sob, shoving her shoulder into his, and continuing past him. A single tear was running down her face. “Betty, wait, don’t--!” 

It was too late. She ran out of the room, the door slamming behind her loudly. 

_ “Fuck!”  _ he shouted, yanking his beanie from his hair and throwing it to the ground. 

Jughead didn’t know a lot of things in that moment. He didn’t know if he’d ever be friends with Betty again, mostly… but what he did know was that he’d just  _ royally _ fucked up, and he knew that there was no more light in his life. It had literally just left the room. 

There was only darkness now - sorrow, despair… The sole light in his life was gone… and he didn’t know where to go from there. 

(Besides wanting to punch himself in the face.)


	3. changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing was better for Jughead the next morning.
> 
> He didn’t get any sleep, regretful for his words, mad at himself for pushing Betty away from him… wondering if she was okay.
> 
> If he was honest with himself, he was mostly worried for her. What he’d said was harsh if not the lowest blow he could have issued her. He wondered if she cried herself to sleep, if she could even sleep after that. He wondered about the question he’d cut her off on… she was going to ask him something, but he’d been so overcome with jealousy and enraged that Betty seemed to only be using him as a shield against Chuck and Reggie.
> 
> The more he reasoned with himself while he was sleep deprived, the more he realized that she probably hadn’t been using him. That was out of character for Betty. She usually had good intentions, always willing to help.
> 
> Then he just felt like a jerk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! The last chapter! 
> 
> The angst doesn't last too long, I promise. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Nothing was better for Jughead the next morning. 

He didn’t get any sleep, regretful for his words, mad at himself for pushing Betty away from him… wondering if she was okay. 

If he was honest with himself, he was mostly worried for her. What he’d said was  _ harsh _ if not the lowest blow he could have issued her. He wondered if she cried herself to sleep, if she could even sleep after that. He wondered about the question he’d cut her off on… she was going to ask him something, but he’d been so overcome with jealousy and enraged that Betty seemed to only be using him as a shield against Chuck and Reggie. 

The more he reasoned with himself while he was sleep deprived, the more he realized that she probably hadn’t been using him. That was out of character for Betty. She usually had good intentions, always willing to help. 

Then he just felt like a jerk. 

All Betty had ever done, even before they’d formally met, was help him. She was a  _ good _ person, Jughead knew that. Even last night, she’d healed the cuts on his face.  _ Tergeo, _ she’d said softly, then ran her thumb tenderly over the newly healed skin.  _ Sweet Merlin, _ he missed the touch of her hand on his face. 

_ Maybe I’ll never get a chance to tell her how I feel, _ he thought miserably just before slinging his legs out of his bed. He trudged down to the common room, still in his sweatpants and Ravenclaw t-shirt. He had cup after cup after cup of coffee until he could finally stand living in his own skin. He was repulsed with himself, with what he said to Betty, with what he’d done. 

And then he conjured a trash can and  _ actually _ threw up because he was so disgusted with himself. He’d fallen asleep at the table he’d been sitting at when Toni found him. She shook his shoulder, trying to wake him up. 

“Jug?” she asked, noticing his crown beanie was nowhere in the vicinity.  _ Something must actually be wrong. _ “Hey, wake up.” 

“Mmmgh,” he grumbled, folding in on himself further. “Go away,” he whined. 

“We’ve got  _ class, _ Jones,” she said. “Let’s get some food in you.” 

“Not… hungry.” 

“Look, your grade wasn’t  _ that _ bad on your Transfiguration test,” Toni said. “It was great by my standards, but it’s obvious that you need some food.” 

“It’s not about the  _ goddamn _ test,” he grumbled. 

“Then what  _ is _ it?” 

Jughead stood, facing Toni and towering over her. He didn’t want to be bothered and she was doing exactly that. 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he whispered intensely, his blue eyes clouded (with what, Toni couldn’t tell). She backed off immediately, heading towards the door. 

“I’ll be at breakfast by myself then,” she replied, leaving Jughead to an empty common room. After that he trudged his way back to the sixth year boys’ dormitory. He got dressed in his uniform in silence, contemplating whatever he’d done, regretting all of it and knowing that Betty would definitely not be joining him for breakfast. 

It hurt him to even think about her. 

_ You’re an idiot.  _

_ You’re a terrible person for pushing her away. _

Trying to shake away the bad thoughts flooding his head, Jughead tugged his crown beanie on his head and slung his messenger bag over his shoulder. In those few moments, Jughead reverted in on himself, turning back into the social hermit he’d been. His shoulders were slumped, his head down and his natural cynical glare roaming the halls. He shoved his hands in his pockets, avoiding any and all eye contact (even though there wasn’t much eye contact to make)... until he ran into something notably  _ solid. _ And then there was a scoff. 

Jughead shuffled back after the impact, looking up at who was in front of him.

“Just the hobo I was looking for,” Cheryl droned, rolling her eyes, peering over Chuck Clayton’s shoulder at the Ravenclaw. 

“Blossom. Clayton,” Jughead groaned. Chuck crossed his (objectively muscular) arms in front of his chest. 

“And don’t forget about  _ us, _ Jones,” Midge Klump added, walking over with Mad Dog, Reggie, and Moose. From around a corner appeared Fangs Fogarty and Sweet Pea. 

Jughead knew then that he was screwed. 

“How about we reschedule this meeting, huh?” Jughead asked, a small amount of sass in his voice. “I’m gonna go, and you Gryffindors and Slytherins can have it out for each other, okay?” He tried to turn and walk away but Chuck grabbed Jughead by the collar, yanking him back and spinning him around. 

“I don’t think so, Jones,” he said. “All of us have a score to settle… with  _ you.” _

“What in Merlin’s name did I ever do to you, Chuck?” Jughead groaned, rolling his eyes. 

“It’s not about what you did to him, per se, Holden Caulfield,” Cheryl replied. 

“It’s what you’ve done to  _ Cooper,” _ Midge added angrily. 

_ Holy fucking shit, _ Jughead thought, his entire body tensing at the thought. 

“It’s a misunderstanding,” he tried to explain. “I didn’t mean--” 

_ “NOBODY _ hurts our seeker!” Moose exclaimed, throwing a punch to the side of Jughead’s face. 

“You don’t just get to go around and emotionally torture the best seeker in the school!” Midge added, slapping the other side of his face as Chuck held him there. 

It was obvious, after a moment, what was going on around him. Fangs and Sweet Pea were making sure no one was going to find the group, Chuck was holding him back, Cheryl and Midge were supervising, and Reggie, Moose, and Mad Dog were having their way with him. 

Cheryl dug one of her bright red heels into Jughead’s instep. 

Reggie and Moose landed multiple punches to his face and ribs. 

Midge occasionally slapped him. 

“And this one’s from Polly Cooper,” Chuck added, shoving Jughead against the wall, sliding him up, then dropping him to the floor. 

Bruised and bloody, Jughead landed in a crumpled heap on the floor, holding his ribcage and just trying to breathe. Reggie was about to take a kick at him when someone Jughead couldn’t see came running in his direction. 

“Hey! Hey! Cut it out! Get away from him!” Betty wailed, tears streaming down her face as she pushed and pulled the jocks out of the way. She stopped right in front of him and gasped. 

“Betty,” he whimpered. Jughead couldn’t bring himself to say much, only looking away from her. She burst into tears and fled as Jughead had his fair share of silent crying, his face angled into the wall. 

“Betty, w-- Woah,” Archie gasped, seeing what was going on. He turned to the crowd that had gathered. “Get out of here, all of you, before I call Professor McGonagall!” he shouted. The group that had ambushed him dispersed, heading in different directions. Jughead noticed that Archie stayed, spotting Veronica Lodge, who was headed towards Betty. He stopped her. “Betty ran in the bathroom, but can you go find Toni Topaz for me?”

“He’s the one--” 

“I know what he did. Go find Toni, Ronnie. Please.” 

“Okay,” she replied, scurrying away. Archie then turned to Jughead, crouching beside him. 

“Come to add to what Reggie, Moose and Chuck started?” Jughead groveled. “Just get it over with.” 

“I should slap you for what you said to Betty last night,” Archie said. “But I believe you’ve gotten enough for now.” 

“I deserved every moment of that,” he coughed harshly, wiping the blood from the reopened slit on his lip. 

“I’m not going to disagree with you on that one,” Archie replied. 

“How is she?” he croaked. 

“The hell is wrong with you?” he asked. “You delivered the  _ worst _ insult possible to one of the best people on the  _ planet _ and you have the audacity to ask how she is?” 

“I was an idiot,” Jughead said. “I was a bloody idiot, Arch, you have to believe me… I didn’t mean it.” 

“It still hurt her,” Archie said. “It doesn’t matter if you meant it or not, Jughead.” 

“Please, Archie,” he whined. “I still care about her.” Archie sighed. 

“She didn’t sleep. She didn’t eat breakfast. She hasn’t smiled all this morning. And Gryffindor House is pissed at you right now, claiming you got in her head to screw her over for the match this weekend,” Archie summed it up for him. “But she keeps insisting that she knows you didn’t mean any of it.” 

“What?” 

“She missed being by your side for so long and now you’ve kicked her to the curb with words that you - supposedly - didn’t mean to say,” Archie stated bluntly. “Eventually she’ll be able to talk to you, but not yet. Let her come to you if she ever is ready. Until then… stay away.” 

“Okay,” Jughead said, wincing. “Thank you for telling me. I’ll do that.” 

A minute later, Veronica came back with Toni, directing her towards Archie. When she saw Jughead she rolled her eyes. 

“Thanks, Archie, I’ll take it from here,” Toni said, clapping Archie on the shoulder. He gave her a troubled smile then left, going back towards the Great Hall. She turned back to Jughead, her expression going stony. “What the bloody hell did you do this time?” 

“Just take me to the infirmary, Toni. I’ll tell you on the way,” he wheezed. The pink-haired petite rolled her eyes again, reaching down and helping him up. When they were both standing, Jughead slung one of his battered arms over her shoulder as they started slowly limping towards the infirmary. 

Just before he got around the corner, Jughead looked back… and there he saw a disheveled Betty Cooper being led towards the Gryffindor dormitory, Veronica Lodge supporting her every step of the way. She cried and cried into Veronica’s shoulder as they walked away. 

_ By hurting her I’ve only hurt myself, _ Jughead thought, stepping out of sight of the blonde beauty… the one he longed to be next to, apologizing to. 

**\---**

Jughead stayed under Madam Pomfrey’s care until lunchtime, which is the earliest that she would even consider letting him go. He was grateful that she didn’t ask questions, but he figured that she’d heard so much dragon dung in the time that she’d been at Hogwarts that she was probably at the point of not  _ wanting _ to know what happened. 

His body’s condition, however, was another story. His ribs had fractured and bruised on both sides. He was lucky to not have a broken nose, and he had several cuts on him from being punched so much. The blood was easily cleaned up, and the bones were pretty easily repaired with Skele-Gro… but he was going to be sore. 

It was very clear when he got to class that Betty wanted nothing to do with him, and he wasn’t surprised about that at all. In every one of the classes they had together, she’d found somewhere to get away from him. He knew he deserved that… but it was hard to adjust. Betty usually balanced out his self doubt and insecurities… but she was on the other side of the room now, and with other people. 

Jughead tried to keep a low profile in the halls, in the dining hall, everywhere. He rarely spoke to people besides Toni or when he was practicing quidditch. Even though Betty never interacted with him, he knew she was close by. 

Reggie had passed him with his goons on more than five occasions, just so Reggie could ram his shoulder into Jughead’s. Jughead, his head usually hanging low, would stumble back, step out of the way, and stop while Reggie and his group passed… and then one day, Reggie spotted Betty not too far behind him (they had most of the same classes, after all). 

“Hey, Lil Coop,” Reggie greeted her. Betty didn’t look very happy, but she looked sad rather than angry. Her textbooks in her arms, she looked up at him, evidently weary. 

“Leave him alone, Reggie,” Betty told him, speaking of Jughead. 

“Who cares about Death-Dweeb?” Reggie scoffed. “Doesn’t matter, anyways--” 

“Let me stop you right there,” she interrupted. “Leave Jones alone unless you want to be Seeker-less on Saturday,” Betty warned sternly. “Now get the fuck out of my way before you can’t walk, Mantle.” She then shoved by the Gryffindor quidditch captain, steam coming out of her ears. Jughead watched her go, feeling Reggie’s stare bore into the back of his head. She didn’t even look back at him. 

As he watched her rush off to the class he should have been walking to, he couldn’t help but sigh, thinking that he’d never gain her trust  _ nor _ her friendship back. 

**\---**

The next day it was Saturday, Jughead thought to himself when he woke up.  _ The quidditch match.  _

He got up and got dressed, then met up with Toni in the Ravenclaw common room and went down to breakfast with her. When they got to the Great Hall, they saw the Gryffindor team being cheered by the rest of their House as the team stood on the benches. Jughead counted  _ one, two, three, four, five, six… Where’s seven? _

He recounted, looking at their positions this time:  _ Archie Andrews, Reggie Mantle, Frankie Valdez, chasers… Mad Dog and Moose Mason, beaters… Adam Chisholm, keeper… no seeker, _ he thought. 

_ Betty. _

Even though he knew that Betty was too humble to even think about revelling in the Gryffindor rally, he felt himself deflate when she wasn’t even at  _ breakfast. _ It’s like she was so upset that she couldn’t even bear going to breakfast and seeing him. 

“Maybe we should get our food to go and eat in the locker room,” Toni suggested, trying to avoid the chaos of the Great Hall. 

“Fuck that,” he replied immediately, walking towards the Ravenclaw table. Jughead felt Toni trying to pull him back and away from the rally, but Jughead continued into the frenzy, pushing past a few Gryffindors to get to the Ravenclaw table. This time he wasn’t going to even try and be invisible. He wanted to be spotted. 

“Oh look who it is, boys!” Reggie shouted, making the rally come to a screeching halt. 

_ There it is, _ Jughead thought, knowing he’d been seen. 

“I didn’t know they allowed Death Eaters play quidditch!” Moose shouted. He didn’t see it, but Jughead knew that Archie elbowed both Reggie and Moose at the same time, telling them to cut it out. 

“I didn’t know they allowed you to even  _ play _ quidditch if you had a bludger for a brain, Mantle!” Jughead retorted, stopping and holding his head high. “When did they change that rule, huh?”

Reggie tried to get off of the bench, but Archie held him there. Jughead smirked smugly. 

“Not gonna come and get me yourself? That’s a shame. I guess you don’t want to mess up that pretty face of yours before you fall off your bloody broom!” Jughead shouted. Archie was struggling to hold both Reggie and Moose back. 

“It’s not worth it, idiots!” the ginger yelled. 

“At least I don’t get so insecure about my relationships that I destroy--” 

Reggie didn’t even finish his sentence before Jughead plowed through the crowd and jumped on the quidditch captain. He knew exactly what Mantle was going to say and he didn’t need to hear another word of it. He knew he’d screwed up with Betty… but he didn’t need Reggie mentioning it. 

Just before Jughead could get a hit on Reggie, they were blasted to opposite sides of the room by an oddly powerful spell cast from the entrance of the Great Hall. Jughead, dazed, looked over, seeing an angry Betty lowering her wand and looking at him. They locked eyes for a fleeting moment, but it felt like an eternity to Jughead. He saw the sadness and disappointment in her eyes and gulped, her green irises glassy and swirling with a troubled feeling. 

Jughead jumped up, even though he was in pain from getting knocked back, and took a step towards her, wanting to finally apologize for the damage he’d caused. She took another glance at him then turned and walked away. Jughead stopped cold in his tracks. 

_ I can’t remedy this, can I? _

Jughead was in a haze when Toni came over, suggesting they just go get changed for the match. They left the Great Hall together, Jughead not completely in his own mind. Toni tried talking sense into him as they walked down to the pitch, but he didn’t hear any of it. 

All Jughead wanted to do was beat Reggie into the dirt… by quidditch. When they got to the pitch, Toni waved him off and rolled her eyes as she went into the womens’ locker room to put on her robes. Jughead got dressed in silence as the rest of the males on the team filtered in and put on their sapphire blue robes as well. 

The team captain gave a speech, probably motivational - Jughead didn’t hear any of it. He just wanted the day, the match to be over already. Toni had to elbow him to get him to snap out of it as they were leaving to get on the pitch. 

Even that didn’t really work. Jughead was in a daze on the pitch, essentially going through the motions. As he stood next to the Ravenclaw captain, he looked over the Gryffindor team, seeing Reggie and his goons simmering in their anger against him, Archie stoic for once in his life, and Betty…

Her mind was visibly elsewhere after the snitch and bludgers had been released, vivid green eyes in the sky, her luscious blonde ponytail swaying back and forth with her head. Her sight moved around rapidly, darting around, but seemingly locked on something. 

Before they all knew it, Madam Hooch signaled for them to all get on their brooms, then she tossed up the quaffle and the game began. It was only then that Jughead was able to get out of his own mind, being passed the ball by the Ravenclaw captain. Jughead darted around Archie and Mad Dog, much more nimble and quick on his broom rather than large. 

Jughead saw Reggie out of the corner of his eye at the last second. Before the burly Gryffindor could tackle him off of his broom, Jughead dove and did a quick barrel roll under Reggie, coming out unscathed on the other side… but just as Jughead got to Adam Chisolm and the hoops he was guarding, Madam Hooch blew her whistle. Jughead stopped where he was. 

Reggie rammed into Jughead, making the quaffle fly into the air. Jughead almost fell off his broom, losing a few feet in the air before he could catch himself off the late hit. 

Confusion resounded in the crowd - the game had only just begun, why was it being stopped already? 

Jughead spun around, seeing none other than Elizabeth Cooper in the middle of the pitch, still on her broom, holding up a golden ball high above her head. 

She’d caught the snitch. Gryffindor won the match 150 to 0. Kevin Keller made that known enthusiastically as Gryffindor House stormed the pitch, lifting up their seven players, but mostly Betty. Jughead touched back to the ground next to Toni, who didn’t look put off at all. 

“She had it from the start,” Toni said, looking at Jughead. “She deserves it, honestly… but let’s go.” 

They walked back to the Ravenclaw locker rooms together, Toni closer to the Gryffindor crowd so that none of them would get at Jughead without her stepping in. Even as Professor McGonagall was dispersing the Gryffindor crowd, Jughead kept his head down, only slightly discouraged by the loss to Gryffindor (Ravenclaw wasn’t supposed to win, after all). He just didn’t want any more trouble. 

But he thought he heard his name called just as he was about to enter the male area of the locker rooms. Jughead and Toni turned around, seeing none other than Betty Cooper, still in her crimson and gold quidditch uniform and holding the winning snitch, her fingers curled around the gold ball, concealing it. Toni clapped Jughead on the shoulder, saying she’d see him later before she went into the women’s locker room.

“Betty?” he asked, truly setting his eyes on her for the first time in a few days. 

“Jug,” she whined, walking over to him and keeping her eyes on him. “Juggie, I’m so sorry.” 

“You have nothing to apologize to me for,” he assured her. “I’m the shitbag here.” 

“No,” she said waterily, shaking her head. “I’m sorry that I made you feel like I was using you to get away from Reggie and his friends - I… I didn’t mean to do that, Jug, you have to believe me.” She looked like she was about to burst into tears. “I treated you so horribly, I--” 

“Betty--” 

“I didn’t mean to end the game so quickly, I--” 

“Betty--” 

“Reggie was going to beat you to a pulp if he had enough time--”

“Stop it,” Jughead interrupted gently, throwing his broom on the ground and putting his hands on her shoulders. “Stop it right now, Betty.” She looked into his eyes.  _ “I’m _ sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things to you. You didn’t deserve that… I’m sorry for putting you through so much turmoil these past weeks… but I know that I  _ never  _ want to do it again. I don’t want to push you away like that ever again, Betty.” 

“Juggie,” she whined, tears pooling heavily in her eyes, making her green irises glint before him. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “Please forgive me.” 

Betty let out a strangled cry, shutting her eyes and slamming her body into his. She wrapped her arms around Jughead’s middle, hugging him tightly and burying her face in his shoulder. Jughead was shocked at first, but caught himself and held her closer to him, his arms wrapping around her shoulders, one palm cupping the back of her head and keeping her there as she cried. 

Betty kept grasping at Jughead’s sapphire blue robes as she hiccoughed, trying to keep a good grip on him, ensuring he wouldn’t leave… but to be fair, Jughead didn’t  _ want _ to leave her side. He finally had her in his arms again, and he knew he never wanted to let her out of his sight again. He felt the need to soothe her tears, a need so much stronger than he’d ever felt before just to comfort her. 

He felt like he wanted to take her pain away, take her to the Room of Requirement, let her cuddle into his lap, and kiss the top of her head sweetly as she fell asleep. He wanted to step between her and harm, creating a buffer between them, defending her from hurt. All he could do now was hold onto her, let his robes soak up her tears, and soothe her mind. 

When Jughead came back to himself, he realized that Betty had stopped crying, still holding onto him. He could feel that she hadn’t fallen asleep, but they were just basking in the feel of each other. Jughead felt her sigh, nuzzling into his shoulder. 

“What were you saying about Reggie again?” Jughead asked, sliding his hand across her shoulder soothingly. She looked up at him, pressing her chin into where her face used to be in his shoulder. 

“He came into the locker rooms angry about the scene in the Great Hall… Reggie said he was going to barrel into you when you had the quaffle,” Betty explained. “He’s… you know…  _ bulky _ I guess… Not to say that you aren’t--” She cut herself off with a sigh. “I didn’t want --”

“You didn’t want him to crush all of my bones,” Jughead completed for her. Betty nodded. “Well… You were just in time, then.” 

“Why’s that?” 

“I got the quaffle and Reggie tried to get me, but then the whistle sounded… and then he hit me late, but he was confused, so it wasn’t too hard,” Jughead explained. “I guess I have you to thank for not being in an infirmary bed right now.” 

“You’re welcome…” she replied, grinning. “... for being the best and most reliable Seeker in the school.” 

“Hey, not too loud. Toni might hear,” Jughead joked. Betty chuckled. “Okay, I need to change, then maybe we could have lunch together? Like old times?” 

“That sounds great, Jug,” she replied. “I’ll meet you back here.” 

Jughead tripped and stumbled getting out of his quidditch robes not more than three seconds later, but he decided it was worth it because he changed in record time - two minutes. He bided his time waiting for Betty by wringing his hands nervously. He was anxious to amend things with her as soon as possible. 

When Betty finally emerged with her Gryffindor quidditch duffel bag slung over her shoulder and her blonde hair down, Jughead broke into a toothy grin. She turned towards him and blushed at his reaction, pushing a golden curl behind her ear shyly and walking towards him. 

“Ready?” he asked, trying to act natural. Betty nodded, still walking closer. Jughead extended his elbow for her. “Shall we?” Betty grinned, slipping her arm through his with a giggle. They walked out of the locker rooms together… 

… As a jealous Reginald Mantle watched. 

**\---**

Getting back to where Jughead and Betty had been in their friendship was much easier than they’d expected. Jughead, particularly, thought it would be weird, but it was effortless. They caught up with each other (it had felt like an eternity, when in reality it had only been a few days) over lunch, laughing, apologizing, smiling. They were both remorseful for how things happened, but they were eventually able to stop apologizing to each other every other sentence. 

Over the next few weeks - and over Christmas break - they fell back into their old habits. They walked each other to class, studied, joined each other at mealtimes. Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones were once again inseparable. Sometimes, they’d even sneak onto the Quidditch pitch and toss the quaffle around, just for fun. During the three weeks that they were separated for Christmas break, Jughead and Betty communicated secretly through Hot Dog (Jughead had been very cautious to try owl post, but Betty was determined and had pushed until he relented, making her promise to be careful so that her parents wouldn’t find out). 

They met up in the Room of Requirement, the Great Hall, the Library. They were partners on projects for class together. Sometimes they accidentally ignored their other friends. But sometimes they couldn’t avoid the outside world so easily. 

Betty was found to cool Jughead’s temper on multiple occasions as Gryffindors teased him in the halls. The blonde next to him would grab his arm and remind him that they were wrong about him, that they didn’t know him. They’d take a deep breath together and keep going. Betty was still receiving nasty owls from her parents. He always knew when it was happening, so he’d pull her to the side - out of sight of others - and console her through her tears. Sometimes he went to such lengths as ushering her to the Room of Requirement so she could really let go, but it often didn’t get so far. 

When they weren’t studying or ignoring their friends, Jughead and Betty were--

“Look, I’m telling you,” Betty argued. “The Arrows are going to clinch the British league.” 

“They don’t have  _ half _ as good a beater as the Magpies, Betts,” Jughead retorted. “Just because the Arrows have--” 

“They have the newest model of Cleansweeps!” Betty shouted shrilly. “Speed is a factor,  _ Forsythe--” _

“Guys.” 

“Speed isn’t  _ everything, _ Elizabeth--” 

“HEY!” Archie shouted, making Betty and Jughead look at him across the Ravenclaw table. They had forgotten that the ginger chaser was even sitting with them (read: that he had been invited to sit with them by Betty). “How long are you two going to argue about the Arrows and Magpies matchup next month?” 

Betty and Jughead looked at each other knowingly, remembering how their debate had started in their second period… and realizing it was currently suppertime…  _ the next day. _

“Honestly, guys, it’s kinda old at this point… and you’ve already been over the broom specs,” Archie told them. “But either way,” he added, getting up to leave with his backpack over his shoulder. “Puddlemere United is going to have both of your teams begging for mercy. Don’t be so thick in the head.” With that, the redhead left, Jughead and Betty staring at him as if Archie had muttered an Unforgivable Curse under his breath. 

When they looked back at each other, Betty and Jughead burst out laughing at how petty their argument had been, and Archie’s response (as everyone - except Puddlemere fans - knew that his favorite team hadn’t been doing well that season). 

“Puddlemere?” They asked at the same time through their laughter, immediately bursting into laughter at the thought of Archie’s team doing better than the Arrows or the Magpies. As Betty brushed small tears that had escaped the corners of her eyes, Jughead took a sip of pumpkin juice to calm himself down. 

Jughead couldn’t help but think how utterly beautiful Betty looked when she laughed… but he was soon pulled back to reality. 

“So, now that Archie has decided to start his magical comedy career,” Betty began, causing Jughead to smirk. “Library? We have that Charms exam on Thursday.” 

“Really?” Jughead asked, popping a grape into his mouth. Betty nodded. “I was thinking we could talk about our plans for Hogsmeade this weekend instead.” Jughead grinned knowingly just as Betty gave him a gentle shove in annoyance. “Oh come on!” Jughead groaned. “We know everything on that exam, front and back.” Betty scoffed and shook her head. Jughead caught her chin with his finger, pulling her gaze back to his.  _ “You _ know everything on that exam, Betty,” he whispered sincerely.

Betty smiled, blushing, and looked away as her cheeks turned pink. 

“I want to talk about Hogsmeade this weekend,” Jughead said. “Twenty minutes of that--” 

_ “Twenty?!” _ she replied, shocked. 

“--Ten minutes of talking about this weekend won’t kill your grade in Charms.” Betty sighed, giving up. 

“Okay, fine,” she relented, putting down a quill she’d picked up and lifting her head from Jughead’s finger. “Where are you planning on taking us this weekend, Jones?” 

“Three Broomsticks,” Jughead said. “Because a wizard needs to eat before such an adventure.” Betty giggled, rolling her eyes. “Then over to Honeyduke’s because I owe someone a sugar quill or two.” The blonde smiled, propping her head on her hand and watching him as she listened. “The Hogsmeade Owlery is really cool, so I’d really like to see that with you… whatever you want to do… maybe we could just walk around, I don’t know.” 

“That sounds so nice, Jug,” Betty said. “It’s the perfect de-stresser after this heavy week of exams.” 

“Really?” He asked, not expecting Betty to like his plan so much. 

“Yeah, absolutely,” she replied. “This weekend after a week full of exams? I just want to chill, Jug. I don’t need anything fancy to have a good time… especially not with you… okay?” 

“Yeah,” Jughead replied breathlessly, his ears turning pink beneath his beanie. “Yeah, okay.” 

“Good,” Betty replied, sliding her quill into her bag. “So… the library?” 

“Yes, the library,” Jughead agreed as they both stood, hitching their backpacks on their shoulders. Jughead had gotten away from Betty a little, so he slowed down until she caught up. He noticed her presence when he felt her arm slip through his, her shoulder bumping against his arm. 

Jughead grinned smugly as they walked towards the school library, suddenly not caring how many floating staircases they would have to climb to get there. 

**\---**

Jughead woke early that Saturday morning, jumping into a pair of Muggle jeans, a dark blue sweater, wool socks, and black boots. He snatched his black cloak and Ravenclaw scarf from his closet before he ran down the stairs that led from the male dormitories. When he entered the common room, Jughead breezed by Toni - who had been standing to wait for him - because he suddenly remembered that he was supposed to have breakfast in the Room of Requirement with Betty (she promised to sneak into the kitchens and get all of his favorites for him so that they wouldn’t have to worry about any trouble caused by jocks). 

Jughead hollered a quick “Sorry!” when he passed Toni, but she wasn’t even surprised. He often accidentally ignored her when Betty was on his mind and Toni knew that. 

Trying to sneak through the halls and avoid other students (Reggie Mantle and his crew in particular), Jughead moved quickly. He wanted to get out of sight (and  _ to _ Betty) as fast as possible. When he made it to the right swatch of wall, Jughead paced back and forth, wishing for the room to appear. A door formed in the stone wall and Jughead ran inside, seeing Betty finishing setting up their breakfast. She looked up when he came in. 

“Oh. Hey, Juggie,” she greeted with a smile. 

“Smells good in here,” he commented, hanging up his cloak and scarf on the coat rack next to the door, Betty’s much more quality cloak and Gryffindor scarf already there. 

“It’s probably all the bacon I got from the kitchens,” she replied, meeting him halfway and dragging him towards the small table for them to both admire her work. Betty motioned for him to take one of the armchairs and they sat down together. 

While Betty ate a piece of toast and two eggs with orange juice, Jughead had a bite of nearly everything provided. All of the bacon, toast (some with jam, some with butter), three eggs, orange juice, sausage, a muffin, and the one waffle Betty had managed to acquire were ingested in less than half an hour. Once they’d started nobody said much until Jughead finally put down his fork, signaling he was done eating. 

“I’m impressed,” Betty said to Jughead, his eyes flickering up to meet hers. 

“Really?” he replied. If Jughead had expected anything, it was that he was going to disgust the beautiful girl in front of him. Instead, she was looking at him in awe, admiring his work. 

“Yeah. You ate literally  _ all _ of the bacon,” she told him. 

“Did you want some?” he asked remorsefully. Betty laughed, waving him off. 

“No, silly,” she responded. “I just think that’s extraordinary that you can eat so much of it.” 

“Why, thank you, Miss Cooper,” Jughead joked. “I’d be happy to do it every breakfast for the rest of our time at Hogwarts.” She laughed again, checking her watch. 

“Speaking of time, we should probably go down to the Great Hall so we can leave for Hogsmeade,” Betty suggested. Jughead’s eyes widened, forgetting about their Hogsmeade trip completely in the mountain of bacon he’d consumed. 

“Yeah,” he said. “Let’s do that.” Betty, sensing his forgetfulness, laughed again as they walked towards their cloaks on the coat rack. 

From his place behind Betty as they walked towards the door, Jughead noticed Betty’s Muggle clothes - a light blue sweater over a white collared shirt that hung over a pair of dark wash Muggle jeans, navy blue wool socks, and a pair of boots fit for walking in the snow. Betty’s hair had been pulled into a ponytail with a light blue ribbon that matched her sweater. Her wand was tucked into one of her boots, the handle just poking out at her ankle. Jughead stifled a laugh at that when she was putting on her cloak. Betty took her wand from her boot and slipped it up her sleeve instead, glancing back at him trying not to laugh. 

“What’s so funny, Jones?” she asked. 

“I’ve just never seen anyone carry their wand in their boot, that’s all,” he defended himself, still smiling. 

“These women’s Muggle jeans don’t have large enough pockets for a wand to fit in,” Betty sighed. “Damn the patriarchy.” 

“That’s unfortunate,” Jughead replied seriously. “Everyone should have large enough pockets for their wands.” 

“We can talk about the inequality of women’s pockets over a sugar quill from Honeyduke’s, don’t you think?” Betty countered, slinging her Gryffindor scarf around her neck. 

“Yes, absolutely,” Jughead said quickly, haphazardly putting on his own cloak and House scarf and offering his arm to Betty after securing his crown beanie to his head. 

They started towards the Great Hall together, arm in arm, in a comfortable silence. Jughead couldn’t help but think about how their trip to Hogsmeade together was probably a date, which caused him to glance at Betty from time to time. Often, she’d feel him looking and glance up at him. When their eyes caught they’d both looked away quickly, Betty’s cheeks turning pink while the tips of Jughead’s ears became warm under his crown beanie. 

As they approached the main entrance, Betty somewhat shoved herself into Jughead’s side, her body almost glued to his. Jughead didn’t mind, as he knew they were both smiling like fools, so he kept walking. They checked out of Hogwarts with Professor Flitwick, finally separating to wave goodbye to one of their favorite professors. 

When they stepped into the Hogwarts courtyard, they saw the light blanket of snow covering the ground as they walked side by side, laughing together at something Betty was saying. 

“And that’s when Cheryl picked up Veronica’s dad’s priceless crystal ball.” 

“No, she didn’t,” Jughead laughed in disbelief. 

“Yeah, she did. I was there,” Betty countered. “Anyways, later that night Cheryl left a pair of her socks out on the floor and--” 

“Oh God,” Jughead groaned, sensing what was to come next. 

“You should have  _ seen _ the way her red hair whipped around when Cheryl slipped,” Betty giggled. “And then Hiram’s crystal ball shattered on the floor and--” 

_ “Elizabeth Cooper!” _ a stern voice shouted from the gate of the Hogwarts grounds. Just outside that gate was the path to Hogsmeade… but Jughead felt like maybe they wouldn’t be getting there. Betty looked concerned immediately before she spotted the source of the shouting. Her eyes widened as she tried to pull Jughead and herself back towards Hogwarts, taking Jughead by the hand and running the other way - away from her evidently angry parents.

They were too slow. 

Before they knew it, the Coopers had descended upon Betty, yanking her away from Jughead. He felt the loss immediately, her fingers trying to grip his palm as she was torn from his grasp.

“NO!” she screamed, fighting against her mother’s suffocating hold. “What the bloody hell are you doing?!” 

“We received a letter this week, telling us that you were spending an awful amount of time with this  _ boy _ rather than working on your studies,” Alice Cooper told her daughter as she held one of Betty’s wrists and Hal Cooper held her other wrist. 

“Well they’re wrong, mom,” Betty said defensively as Jughead stood there, stunned. “I’ve been studying  _ with  _ him.” She looked him straight in the eye, waiting for some support. “Right, Jughead?” 

“Y-Yes, that’s right,” Jughead stammered, still shocked. “We study together nearly every night, Mr. and Mrs. Cooper.” 

“I know we certainly didn’t ask for your input on our daughter’s misbehavior” Hal stated.

“Well…” Jughead began. “Betty asked.” 

“And who are  _ you?” _ Alice asked rudely, all three Coopers looking at him now. Betty had tears in her eyes, subtly shaking her head at him. He found no reason to lie. 

“Jughead,” he stated. Betty squeaked, knowing he was going to tell the truth. “Jughead Jones.” 

_ “JONES?!” _ Alice and Hal screeched at the same time, looking in at Betty. She only jumped when they said his last name, whimpering and letting tears roll down her face. 

“You have some explaining to do, young lady,” Hal insisted. Alice only stared at Jughead menacingly. 

“You have some nerve coming after our daughter like this, Jones,” she nearly growled. “What, you want to get in with our daughter so we lose all of our money too, is that it?” 

“Mom, no, he’s just a friend--” 

“I’ve had enough about you for one week, Elizabeth,” Alice reprimanded, making Betty’s head fall into a respectful bow. Alice turned back to Jughead angrily… then spat on his boots. “Stay away from my daughter.” 

Jughead wanted to crumple up and die. 

With that, Alice spun around to face her daughter and husband. 

“I think that’s quite enough for now, don’t you think, Hal?” Mr. Cooper nodded, tugging Betty along. 

“Where are you taking me?!” Betty yelled, being forced towards the gate. She was fighting back with everything she had, dogging her heels into the snowy path. Jughead’s jaw dropped when he realized what was happening. 

_ “No,” _ he muttered, taking a single step forward and reaching out, unable to grab Betty back. The Coopers yanked her away

“You’re coming home with us, Elizabeth,” Alice told her daughter, painfully leading her away from Hogwarts by the arm. “We’re going to show you what happens when you disobey us.” 

“Wait!” Jughead yelled, trying to run after them. He felt a pair of arms holding him back, but he didn’t care to look and see who it was. Soon enough, another set of arms came along to help the first pair, but Jughead didn’t even notice. Betty turned her head back to look at him one more time, mouthing  _ I’m sorry _ in his direction. “NO!” he screamed, falling to his knees in the person’s grasp as he watched Betty mount her mother’s broom unwillingly, then fly away with her parents. “NO!” Jughead yelled again, his voice cracking and warm tears running down his face. 

“She’s gonna be okay, Jones,” Jughead heard Cheryl Blossom say from behind him. He turned around, seeing Cheryl and Toni standing behind him. Cheryl wiped a tear from under her eye without smudging her mascara. “Trust me, it could be worse. Betty will be okay.” 

“What are they going to do to her?” Jughead asked, getting to his feet with Toni’s help. The two Ravenclaws were watching Cheryl’s face curiously. 

“I couldn’t tell you, Jones,” Cheryl replied, finally looking at him. “They’re cruel, the Coopers… Betty’s family, and it’s hard to see her live with the parents she has to deal with. Somehow, she’s ended up kinder and more forgiving than those that she has to call family.” 

Out of the blue, Veronica Lodge ran towards them cautiously, Archie Andrews behind her. 

“Cher? What happened? Was that—“

“It was the Coopers,” Jughead said angrily. “Betty and I were on our way to Hogsmeade and… they showed up and just took her after they realized who I was.” 

“Well, dragon dung,” Veronica sighed. “Poor Betty.” 

“Do you think she’ll be okay, Ronnie?” Archie asked. 

“She’ll probably be back tomorrow night,” Veronica said, Cheryl nodding in agreement. “Or Monday morning. Her parents would never let her miss school to deal with their dragon shit.” Jughead sighed in relief. “How did they even know that Jughead was spending time with her? It’s not like Betty sends them owls, and I know she wouldn’t tell them herself.” 

“Bloody hell,” Archie gasped. “It was Reggie.” 

“WHAT?!” Jughead exclaimed, enraged. Before he knew what he was doing, Jughead had pulled his wand from his sleeve, marching back towards Hogwarts Castle. 

“Nononononono!” Archie shouted, grabbing Jughead around the middle and lugging him back over to the group. 

“Let me at ‘im, Archie!” He insisted, fighting against the ginger. Jughead was so mad that his Scottish accent was slipping into his speech. 

“I would but it wouldn’t make your life any easier and it wouldn’t help Betty,” Archie replied, placing Jughead back on the ground between him and Toni. 

“How do you even know it was Reggie?” Cheryl asked. 

“I just realized it was Reggie,” Archie admitted. “He wrote a letter to the Coopers a few days ago. I overheard him working on it with Moose - he’s trying to hurt Jughead by hurting Betty,” he continued. “I didn’t realize it at the time. If I’d known I would’ve stopped it, but I had no idea… I’m so sorry.” 

“It’s not your fault, Arch,” Jughead sighed, clapping the Gryffindor on the shoulder in defeat. “I know you would’ve stopped them if you’d known this would happen.” 

“I really wish there were something I could do to remedy this,” the ginger said. 

“Betty will be fine,” Cheryl told them. “She’s capable of handling herself and her parents for a weekend.” 

“Cheryl’s right,” Veronica added. “She’s a fighter. She’ll fight.” 

After that, Cheryl, Veronica, Archie, and Toni offered him a spot in their group going to Hogsmeade, but Jughead declined, feeling low after the Coopers took Betty. He trudged back up the hill, then back up to his dormitory and in his room. When he was standing next to his bed, Jughead flopped down on it in defeat. He didn’t want to think about anything for the rest of the weekend, he didn’t want to do anything for the rest of the weekend besides sleep and eat… which was interrupted by tapping on a window. Jughead grumbled to himself, taking his pillow and sandwiching his head between it and his mattress. Still, the tapping pierced through his head, making him angry. Moodily, Jughead got up, throwing his pillow down with a huff, and opening the window that had been tapped on. 

Without warning, a snowy owl flew through the window, perching itself on Jughead’s desk. Upon further inspection, Jughead realized it wasn’t just any snowy owl that had flown through his window. 

“Hot Dog?” Jughead questioned. The owl hooted softly and ruffled his feathers in acknowledgment. Curiously, Jughead made his way over to his desk chair, sitting down without taking his eyes off of his owl. Without another moment of hesitation, Hot Dog extended one of his claws towards Jughead. He saw then that there was a small roll of parchment in his grasp, tied with a small pink ribbon. 

“Betty,” Jughead whispered. Hot Dog hooted softly as Jughead took the roll of parchment from his claw. “Bloody hell, she called you to her manor so you could bring me a letter.” Hot Dog hooted again, jumping to Jughead’s shoulder and rubbing himself against Jughead’s hair. “Alright, alright, that’s enough.” With that, Hot Dog turned towards the window again, then flying out of it again. “So she’s got both of us under her control, doesn’t she?” he sighed, looking at the ribbon in his hands. Carefully, Jughead pulled the pink ribbon loose, letting the piece of parchment unroll in his hands. Jughead knew immediately that it was Betty’s beautiful script. 

_ Jughead, _

_ Right now you’re probably sitting in your room, blaming yourself for my parents taking me from Hogwarts. It’s not your fault at all. Honestly, nothing could ever explain what goes on in my parents’ heads, but they’re obviously overreacting because of some letter they received, saying that we’ve been spending time together. Needless to say, I don’t think they like the fact that I have free will at school, or at least enough of it to be able to spend time with and study with whomever I want. Them dragging me home for a weekend won’t stop me from wanting to spend time with you, Jug, You know, I don’t think anything would stop me from wanting to spend time with you.  _

_ As I was leaving Hogwarts, I was able to call Hot Dog from the owlery... I hope you don’t mind, I just wanted to be able to send you an owl and let you know that I’m okay (and don’t be so hard on him - he deserves some treats for following me all the way back to London and then flying back to you). He’s also a really fast flyer, if you didn’t already know. Either way, I don’t think it would be smart to try and correspond this weekend by owl. My parents are already enraged, and I don’t want you getting wrapped up in any of my parents’ dragon shit. I could be back as early as tomorrow night, but as late as Monday morning. Please don’t worry, I’ll be okay. My parents just want to try and get in my head before I have to come back to school (and please ask Archie to take care of Caramel in the meantime).  _

_ My parents won’t like my answers to their questions, but I’ll tough it out and make sure I’m back in time for our Charms class on Monday.  _

_ I’ll miss you (and that beanie you never take off) this weekend.  _

_ Yours, _

_ Betty _

**\---**

Later that night, Toni dragged Jughead down to the Slytherin common room. He was a little grumpy about it because he’d just settled himself in the Ravenclaw common room with his first edition  _ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them _ that Betty had given him for Christmas when Toni forced him out of his seat. 

Cheryl and Veronica had invited him, Toni, and Archie down to their common room to hang out. Usually Betty would go spend time with them, but she’d been forced away by her parents, so that was out of the question. To make up for that, Veronica and Cheryl decided to open up their common room to Betty’s other good friends. 

Jughead didn’t really like the idea of going into his father’s old common room, but he decided it would be better than trying to go into the Gryffindor common room. 

When he and Toni got there, Cheryl, Veronica, and Archie were all sitting together, and Jughead noticed that Caramel was sitting next to Archie stoically. When Jughead and Toni went down the stone steps to get into the center of the room, Caramel jumped up, prancing over to Jughead and sticking to his heels. 

“Wow,” Archie said, watching the ginger cat follow Jughead. 

“What?” 

“Caramel hasn’t actually associated herself with anyone the entire time Betty’s been gone,” he said. “But she seems to like you.” 

“Oh,” Jughead replied, sitting next to Archie on the couch. Caramel jumped up immediately and curled up in Jughead’s lap with a purr. 

“Very interesting, Jones,” Cheryl chimed in, taking a sip of tea (from an obviously Blossom heirloom teacup, of all things). “Seems as if you’re the male version of Betty.” 

“What? No,” he replied. “I’m nothing like Betty, seriously.” 

“Caramel seems to think differently,” Veronica replied, waving her wand and making two teacups float over to where Jughead and Toni were. She waved her wand again and tea was poured into them. Sugar and cream floated to rest next to their teacups, allowing each of them to fix their tea how they liked. 

“I think that’s enough about the cat,” Jughead stated, wanting to be done with that conversation. With a shrug from the rest of the room, they all moved on. 

Contrary to what Jughead had believed, Cheryl Blossom and Veronica Lodge were much less stuck up than he’d imagined they would be. He could see why Betty was friends with them, too. They had problems just like the rest of them had problems. The Blossoms cared so much about money and status, but Cheryl didn’t believe those were the most important things in the world; she just wanted to feel loved for once. The Lodges cared more about money than anything in their lives - including their own daughter - and they didn’t care how they got it, either. Veronica constantly wished that her parents would do something good with the riches they’d been granted, or that they’d just stop and remember they had a daughter. Neither of them really favored the privileges they’d been granted by their blood and economic status and they were paying the price for it in their own unique ways. 

By the end of the night, each of them had a new understanding for each other… and Caramel wouldn’t leave Jughead alone. 

Archie tried to take Caramel from Jughead’s lap, but that resulted in the redhead getting scratched. It drew blood. That was very unlike the Caramel that Jughead knew. When she was around Betty, Caramel was a very relaxed, nice cat, but it looked as if Caramel was not in favor of going back to Gryffindor with Archie. 

“I’ll take care of her, Archie,” Jughead sighed, realizing there wasn’t much of another option. 

“You sure?” He asked. 

“Yeah, it looks like she’s gonna refuse going with anyone else,” Jughead replied. “Let’s go, Caramel.” He picked up the cat and held her the way Betty would, Caramel curling up in Jughead’s arms with a mewl. “Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight, Jughead,” the other four replied as Jughead left the Slytherin common room, heading towards Ravenclaw Tower.

The next morning, Jughead woke to Caramel pawing at his shoulder, the cat perched on his side. 

“Huh?” Jughead asked sleepily, not used to a cat waking him up like that. “Well good morning to you too.” Caramel mewled at him. “Hungry?” Another mewl. Jughead’s stomach grumbled as well. “Breakfast it is.” 

Caramel jumped off of Jughead, instead opting to sit on his bed while he got dressed for the day. Before Jughead could really extend his arms, Caramel jumped at him and Jughead caught her. 

“That was almost too easy,” he sighed, leaving Ravenclaw Tower. Jughead held Caramel as they made their way down to the Great Hall. When he stepped inside, he saw Archie, Toni, Cheryl, and Veronica sitting with Kevin Keller at the Hufflepuff table. They saw Jughead and Caramel in return, motioning for them to join. Jughead let Caramel down to walk at his heels as he walked over to the table, sitting next to Archie and across from Kevin. Caramel joined Jughead, perching on his other side. 

“Good morning,” Kevin greeted him. 

“Hey,” Jughead replied, reaching for the plate of bacon and a few slices of toast. “Archie, what does Betty usually give Caramel?” 

“Sometimes it’s cereal, sometimes it’s a piece of toast,” the redhead replied. “Caramel’s not too particular.” 

“Good,” Jughead said, holding out a piece of toast for the cat to take. “I’m not too particular, either.” 

“So we’ve heard,” Veronica chimed in from next to Kevin, taking a sip of coffee. 

“Don’t patronize me,” Jughead grumbled, passing another piece of toast to Caramel. 

The rest of that Sunday was peaceful. Jughead opted to hide away in the library with Caramel and a few good books to keep him company. To Jughead’s surprise, Caramel was the perfect cat to have a good book with. She curled up in Jughead’s lap and slept there as he read, and she didn’t seem to mind when he needed to get up, either to find another book or to refill his coffee cup. Caramel even followed him around the library, rubbing against his calves kindly when he stopped to look at a book. 

All in all, Jughead understood why Betty loved Caramel so much by the end of the day - they were perfect companions for each other. Jughead had no doubt that they would curl up together on a rainy summer day at Cooper Manor, a book and a warm tea in Betty’s hands. Even so, it was obvious how much Caramel loved Betty too… 

It was made obvious to Jughead that they both loved Betty, and they missed her more than anything in the entire world. 

**\---**

Monday morning, Jughead trudged down one of the moving staircases (he didn’t know which one) sleepily, Caramel right behind him. Pulling his crown beanie down over his ears and straightening his tie, Jughead yawned. He’d waited up as long as he could for an owl from Betty, just in case she’d come back to school late Sunday night. Needless to say, Jughead was woken up by Dilton Doiley (Jughead had missed his alarm), and he found himself asleep on the floor, Caramel curled up in one of his arms. 

Though he had to get dressed quickly and grab his messenger bag, Jughead was still very tired. He’d only gotten about two hours of sleep the previous night. 

Jughead’s sleepy haze was broken when Caramel mewled loudly and bolted towards the Great Hall. Curiously, as Jughead turned the corner, he looked up slowly to see Archie Andrews and Midge Klump standing with… 

“Betty,” Jughead gasped to himself, suddenly energized. 

As he, too, ran towards Betty, he noticed her long, beautiful legs and her bewitching smile. Just as Betty saw Jughead running towards her, she took a few steps in front of Archie and Midge, blatantly ignoring Caramel pawing at her ankle. Jughead noticed her dazzling green eyes and the light pink bow in her blonde hair as she giggled and smiled wider. 

Jughead crashed into Betty, wrapping her up in his arms. She managed to sling her arms around his shoulders before Jughead picked her up suddenly. She squealed with laughter and Jughead joined in too as he spun them around in a circle. 

She was warm and soft in his arms, and he was glad to know that she still smelled like parchment and lavender. Her laughter was infectious as she held onto his shoulders for dear life. Jughead was intoxicated by her presence, by her warmth. 

“Jug!” she exclaimed. “Put me down!” Jughead did as he was told, but didn’t let go. 

“I missed you,” he whispered, keeping her close. Betty giggled again. 

“I missed you too,” she whispered back, pulling away from their hug to look at him. They smiled at each other, laughing and blushing breathlessly when--

“Ahem,” Cheryl Blossom and Veronica Lodge scoffed together, making the two jump apart. Jughead felt his ears burning under his beanie while Betty tried to hide how red her cheeks were turning by picking up Caramel. The cat curled up in her arms. 

“Archie told me about Caramel,” Betty said cordially. “Thanks for taking care of her this weekend.” 

“No problem, Betty,” Jughead replied. 

“Veronica and Cheryl wanted me to have breakfast with them, if you don’t mind, Jug.” 

“Go ahead. I’ll see you in Charms?” 

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Betty replied, smiling at him before joining her cousin and childhood friend as they walked over to the Slytherin table. Jughead watched her go as he made his way towards the Ravenclaw table, seeing Archie and Toni already waiting for him. 

“So Archie,” Jughead began as he sat down. “When were you going to tell me that Betty came back?” 

“I would’ve told you if you’d have stopped making googly eyes at her,” Archie stated bluntly, causing Toni to choke on her coffee. Jughead’s jaw dropped at the insinuation. 

“I haven’t been making  _ “googly eyes” _ at Betty,” he replied sternly. 

“Don’t be the last one to realize it, bro,” Archie said. “You know what I’m talking about.” 

“No I don’t!” 

“Archie, leave him alone,” Toni butted in. “If Jughead can’t see that he is crushing so obviously on Cooper, let him remain oblivious.” 

“Hey!” 

“We’re just joking with you, Jug,” Toni said, passing him plates of bacon, eggs, and toast. 

“I wasn’t,” Archie stated, his mouth full of pancakes. 

“Oh shut it,” Jughead replied, flicking a bit of water in his best friend’s direction. They both laughed it off, changing the conversation topic. 

During their lunch hour that day, Jughead, Betty, Archie, and Toni sat at the Ravenclaw table together. Gradually, Jughead and Betty got into a heated debate about patronuses, causing Archie and Toni to look at each other knowingly, getting up with their plates and heading over to the Slytherin table to sit with Cheryl and Veronica. Jughead and Betty didn’t even notice because they were so caught up in the debate (and each other’s presence). 

When it came time to go to their Herbology class, they got up together, finally realizing that Archie and Toni had already left. As they were on their way to the greenhouses, Jughead spotted Moose Mason down the hall. On instinct, Jughead quickly put himself between Moose and Betty (to Betty’s subtle discontent and not-so-subtle confusion). Unfortunately for Jughead, he realized too late that it wasn’t Betty that Moose wanted to talk to. 

“How goes the quidditch, bird brain?” Moose chided as he passed. Jughead growled and was about to double back when Betty distracted him. 

“Don’t listen to him, Jug,” she said softly, continuing to lead them towards the greenhouses while squeezing his bicep. “They don’t know how good of a quidditch player you really are.” Jughead looked down at her, smiling. Said smile turned to a grimace when Jughead saw something that made him freeze. 

“What’s that?” he asked, stopping them. Betty looked up at him, confused. 

“What are you talking about?” she replied. 

“That,” Jughead stated, pointing to a purplish splotch on the side of her face. He’d seen it after switching places with her.  _ No wonder she was so confused. _ Betty quickly covered her cheek with her hand.  _ How didn’t I notice it before? _ Jughead asked himself. 

“I-It’s nothing,” she stuttered, looking at her feet. Jughead took a finger to the bottom of her chin, lifting Betty’s gaze to his. 

“You can tell me, Betty,” he replied softly, gently peeling her palm away from her face. 

“It’s not a big deal--” 

“Yes, it is, Betty,” Jughead stopped her, pulling them to the side of the vacant hallway. “You left for the weekend because your parents forced you away from Hogwarts… and you come back this morning with a bruise on your face.” Betty averted her gaze again, but Jughead lifted her eyes to his once more. “You can tell me the truth, Betts,” he added softly. 

“They hit me,” she whispered weakly, evidently ashamed. They both swallowed harshly at the same time. 

“Who did?” 

“My mom,” Betty replied. 

“Why?” Jughead asked quietly, his voice breaking with sorrow for her. He placed his hand on her shoulder, trying to coax the answer out of her gently. 

“I told them I wouldn’t stop being friends with you,” she stated. “My mom didn’t like the idea of her  _ “perfect” _ young daughter spending time with a Jones.” She paused a moment, composing herself. “Damnit, I hate that word.” 

“Which word?” 

“Perfect,” she said, shuffling closer to Jughead’s side. “It’s what they want me to be, but… I’m just not, and I know that and I’ve accepted that… Ever since I was sorted into Gryffindor, there’s been no chance that I’d ever be perfect in their eyes, so why try anymore?” she mumbled, getting angrier as she spoke, and looking down at her feet again. 

Jughead knew Betty better than to assume that she wasn’t in tears or close to it. He tilted her chin up again, his eyes immediately locking on her reddened, glassy, green eyes. Jughead pulled out a handkerchief, using it to dry her eyes for her. Betty leaned into his touch as he did so, then took the cloth from Jughead to get the spot he’d missed before handing it back to him. 

“Thank you,” she muttered brokenly. 

“Don’t mention it,” he replied, pulling her into his body. Betty wrapped her arms around Jughead’s torso delicately in a hug, and Jughead did the same, using his thumb to rub calming patterns through her Hogwarts robes. 

Jughead didn’t know how long they stood in that corridor together, silently. Betty sniffled every so often, but it didn’t seem like she was crying. He only pulled back from their embrace when he knew that they had just enough time to get to class. 

“Hey,” he said softly, lifting Betty’s eyes to his once more. “If it means anything…  _ I _ think you’re perfect.” Betty winced at first, but relaxed as Jughead explained. “You’re not perfect in the objectively impossible standards of your parents, but you’re perfect to me… I think you’re really smart and fun to debate with…” Betty giggled at that, remembering some of the stupid debates they’d gotten into. “You’re really fun to partner with in class… You’re a  _ fantastic _ quidditch player… You’re kind to everyone you meet, and you’re brave enough to defy your parents to their faces--” 

“I wasn’t brave this weekend, Juggie,” she countered. 

“I beg to differ, Cooper,” Jughead argued. “You told them you wouldn’t stop being friends with me just because of my name.” He paused. “Betty, no one’s ever done that for me before. You have to understand how much that means to me… how brave that is.” 

She smiled then, squeezing his hand gently. 

“Betty, I think you’re extraordinary,” he said softly. “To hell with what your parents say. They don’t matter, because they don’t appreciate the wonderful, beautiful young woman they’ve got on their hands.” 

“Thank you, Juggie,” she whispered, smiling a little more and lacing their fingers together. “I hate to slow your roll, but I think we should start heading to class now.” 

“And you’re absolutely right,” he replied, beginning to walk alongside her again. 

“Room of Requirement studying? Friday night, after dinner?” Betty asked when they stepped outside, just a few feet from the greenhouse they were supposed to be working in. 

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Betts.” 

**\---**

Immediately following dinner, Betty and Jughead snuck away from the rest of the crowd heading to their dormitories and instead scurried off to the seventh floor west corridor in a fit of hushed giggles. They felt like children again, violating their curfew and sneaking off to places they shouldn’t be. 

“You’re such a bad influence for a prefect, Cooper,” Jughead whispered as they stopped in front of where the door would be in a moment. 

“Shut it, Jones,” Betty whispered back, triggering the door to appear. They scrambled inside before anyone could see, making their way over to the plush armchairs in front of the fireplace. 

After tea and coffee were poured, Betty and Jughead got settled in, deciding to study for their History of Magic exam that they had at the end of the next week. Soon, however, they realized that they knew everything that was going to be on that exam, so they decided to play chess and talk. 

“So I was thinking,” Betty began after she made her move, “Since my parents royally wrecked our trip to Hogsmeade this weekend, I was wondering if you wanted to try again tomorrow.” 

Jughead stilled, surprised that Betty would even bring that up. 

“Really?”

“Of course,” she replied. “I was looking forward to it that whole week, did you think I didn’t want to go or something?” 

Jughead found himself, once again, speechless by fault of Betty Cooper. 

“No, no, of course not,” he stumbled over himself. “But of course I’d like to go to Hogsmeade this weekend.”

From there, they finished up their chess game (Betty won) and sat next to each other on the shag carpet, facing the roaring fire. Jughead covered their legs with a fluffy blanket, making sure they were both comfortable as they relaxed. 

The conversation eventually turned to Betty’s family. 

Jughead did nothing but listen, watching Betty allow herself to be vulnerable in front of him. She talked about how her brother had moved out of the house a week after he graduated Hogwarts, and her sister left after finding a job at the Ministry - which was a month before Betty left for Hogwarts the previous September. Even in that one month that Betty had been left alone in Cooper Manor, she noticed how her parents - her mother, especially - seemed to be trying all they could to keep Betty in their grasp. They were smothering her, trying to make sure she’d stay… but that was only making Betty want to leave more. 

“I know they’re hurting because Charles and Polly left so quickly, but I can’t be their emotional punching bag, Jug,” Betty explained. 

“And you shouldn’t have to be,” Jughead replied, handing her another tissue. “Just like you told me at the beginning of the school year - you shouldn’t have to be treated like that, you shouldn’t have to deal with that.” Betty nodded, holding eye contact with him. “It’s not right… and when you turn seventeen in June, I’ll show up on Cooper Manor’s doorstep and get you out of that house myself.” 

“You mean it?” Betty asked timidly, giggling a little at the end. 

“Of course I do,” Jughead told her softly. “I’d do anything for you, Betty Cooper.” She rested her head against his shoulder. 

“I’d do anything for you too, Jughead Jones.” 

**\---**

When Jughead woke up the next morning, the first thing he realized was that he felt warmer than he usually did, and then he realized that he wasn’t in his four post bed in Ravenclaw Tower. Instead, he saw the ceiling of the Room of Requirement, sunlight flooding the room by way of the windows, and… movement that wasn’t his? 

Looking down at where he was laying, Jughead realized that he and Betty had fallen asleep together on the floor of the Room of Requirement, pillows scattered around them and a thick blanket pulled over the both of them. He noticed that Betty hadn’t gotten her own pillow, but she’d snuggled up to  _ him  _ instead, using his chest to rest her head on. His arm was wrapped around her shoulders, holding her securely to him, while one of her arms was draped across his torso. He remembered how he’d gently pulled the pink ribbon out of her hair, making her blonde hair fall gently to her shoulders in soft golden curls. In return, she’d taken his crown beanie off of his head, claiming “fairness.” 

Jughead couldn’t help but notice how  _ warm _ Betty was, how soft she was, how small she was in comparison to him, and how  _ comfortable _ it all was. He could get used to waking up from late night study sessions with her in his arms, or talking until they both fell asleep… maybe even doing other things (some that may or may not require less clothing). 

Just before Jughead could get too far into his daydreaming, Betty woke slowly, smoothing her hand over Jughead’s abdomen. When her eyes fluttered open and she realized where she was, Betty pulled her hand away quickly, but didn’t make a move to get out of Jughead’s hold. 

“I know you’re awake,” she stated sleepily. 

“How’d you guess?” he replied, continuing to keep her against his side. 

“Dunno,” she shrugged. “I just know things sometimes… like how I know that we need to get up if we ever want to make it to Hogsmeade.” It was only then that Betty sat up, giving Jughead a good view of her back. When she stretched, he saw that under her white uniform shirt was a pale purple bra. He grinned just before she turned to look at him again. “You gonna lay there or are we going to go back to our dorms and change before we go?” she asked, looking down at him with a smile. 

“You get a headstart,” Jughead replied. “I’ll meet you outside the Great Hall.” 

“Have it your way,” she sighed, getting up. “But I’m not going to leave you lying here so you can fall asleep on me, Jones.” Rolling his eyes, Jughead sat up, grabbing his beanie to cover his dark hair. “You know, I think I like that better off,” Betty chided, reaching for her pink ribbon while motioning to Jughead’s beanie. He chuckled, shaking his head as he realized that Betty had finished getting dressed. “I’ll see you in about… thirty minutes?” 

“Thirty minutes,” he replied. 

“Great,” she said, drawing her hair back into her signature ponytail and securing it with the ribbon. “Bye.” 

“Bye.” 

With that, Betty left Jughead to get decent again. He quickly threw his tie around his neck, not bothering to fix his top button, nor the tie. He slung his Ravenclaw robe over his shoulders, grabbed his things, then bolted back to Ravenclaw Tower. 

As they were currently a week from Easter Break, Jughead knew that it was getting warmer outside. Instead of opting to bundle up like he needed to the week prior, he chose a pair of jeans, a black S t-shirt, his combat boots, and a grey and black flannel shirt, along with his beanie. When he was ready, Jughead quickly made his way down towards the Great Hall. When he rounded the corner, he saw Betty waiting for him in a pink sweater, matching high-top converse, and a pair of jeans. Her hair had been pulled back into her usual blonde ponytail, noticeably neater than when she left him earlier. 

Betty smiled when she spotted him, and Jughead couldn’t help but smile back. 

“Hey,” he greeted. 

“Hey yourself,” she replied. “Ready?” 

“Yeah… just… one more thing,” Jughead stated, making Betty pause. He reached behind her head, pulling on the end of the ribbon tied in a bow. Betty gasped as her hair hit her shoulders in soft, golden curls. 

“Jug--” 

“I like it better off,” he echoed her words from earlier, grinning smugly and tucking the ribbon into his pocket. Betty couldn’t help but smile, sighing and knowing she wouldn’t be putting her hair back up. She reached up, parting her hair how she wanted to. 

“Satisfied, Jones?” she asked when she was done. 

“Quite,” he replied. “Hogsmeade?” 

“Hogsmeade.” 

That day, Betty held (or just grabbed) Jughead’s hand a total of five times - not that he was counting. She bought them a bag full of sweets to share from Honeyduke’s, half of which Jughead ate on his own as they walked around Hogsmeade. They stopped for lunch at the Three Broomsticks, then they headed over to the Hogsmeade Owlery (Betty wanted to mail a letter to her brother and sister but didn’t know where they were; she was assured that their owls would find them). After that, Betty and Jughead just wandered around, laughing and having a good time. At one point, they stopped inside a small bookshop where they each chose a book to buy for the other. For Betty, Jughead chose a book on patronuses, and for Jughead, Betty purchased a book about magical foods of the modern age. 

Jughead saw Reggie out of the corner of his eye at one point when he and Betty were walking together. Jughead didn’t acknowledge the rowdy Gryffindor, but grinned smugly as he and Betty walked down the cobblestone path while Betty spoke passionately about her favorite quidditch moves. 

They returned to Hogwarts just before dinner that night, opting to eat together at the vacant end of the Ravenclaw table. When they were done, they left the Great Hall early, and Jughead escorted Betty back to Gryffindor Tower. 

Betty stopped them about fifteen feet from the portrait of the Fat Lady, wanting to speak to Jughead before she left. 

“I had a lot of fun today,” she told him, squeezing his hand. 

“Me too,” Jughead replied, smiling. “I’m glad you weren’t pulled off to Cooper Manor this time,” he chided. Betty let go of this hand and slugged his arm playfully, laughing quietly. 

“I’m happy that didn’t happen too,” she said. “It wouldn’t have been any fun.” 

“Damn right,” he whispered. 

“Yeah,” Betty agreed, holding her bottom lip between her teeth. She averted her eyes from his for a moment, grinning. “Thanks for today,” she said finally. 

“Betty, it’s really no problem.” 

“No, I mean it. I really enjoyed hanging out with you today… but I should probably go study for my Arithmancy exam next week.” 

“Well… you know I’m no good at that, so good luck,” Jughead joked. 

“Thanks, Juggie,” Betty replied, shooting up and swiftly placing a kiss on Jughead’s cheek before he could react. While he was deftly frozen in place, Betty scurried off towards her common room. “I’ll see you tomorrow!” She cheered from the other end of the hall as the Gryffindor portrait swung open. 

When it closed again, Jughead jumped four feet in the air in a fit of joy before running back to his own common room. 

It was easily the best day of his life. 

**\---**

The last day of classes before Easter break came around like it always did. Hogwarts felt like it bustled a little more than usual, most of the students eager to go home for a week. 

Betty Cooper felt differently, and Jughead knew it. 

She’d opted to stay at Hogwarts for the break after the last time she’d been dragged home by her parents. Looking to avoid them for as long as possible, Betty had signed up to stay over break as soon as Professor Longbottom had posted the roster in the Gryffindor common room. 

While Jughead had been planning on going home with Jellybean for Easter break, he’d quickly changed his mind when Betty told him she’d be staying, knowing that very few of the older Hogwarts students stayed for school breaks. Toni and Archie already had plans, so Jughead encouraged them to get away from Hogwarts and not to worry about him. After all, he was staying there to keep Betty company. 

Naturally, Betty sent an owl to her parents, telling them that she wouldn’t be going home for Easter. Not a day later, the bird Jughead knew to be the Coopers’ majestic eagle owl perched on Betty’s shoulder with a red envelope in its beak. Jughead and Betty locked eyes for only half a second before Jughead took the letter from the owl and was ushering Betty down a private corridor where they could open the envelope together. 

Just after Jughead broke the searing seal to get the experience over with, Betty whimpered and crashed into him, burying her face in his shoulder. Alice Cooper’s voice boomed in the hallway, making the stone beneath them shake and rattle. Betty whimpered and cried into Jughead’s shoulder as her mother insulted her, very against the idea of their youngest daughter not coming home for the holiday. 

When Alice called her daughter a disgrace, Betty sobbed harder, her legs giving out from underneath her. Jughead lowered them both to the floor, helping Betty stay close to him as the Howler tore itself to pieces, the edges charring and shrivelling up. 

Betty cried in Jughead’s arms for an indefinite amount of time, but Jughead made no move to leave. He stayed there until her tears had dried and the hopeful glimmer in her emerald eyes returned. Jughead remained by her side for the rest of the day, trying to keep her mood up and trying to make her forget about all of the awful things her mother said. 

The next day, Betty was ready to take on the world again. By the end of the week, Jughead - a connoisseur in all things fun over Hogwarts breaks - convinced Betty into several exciting ideas he had to keep them occupied over the week-long break. That Friday just before their last class - needless to say - the two were giddy, ready for their vacation to begin. 

It was on their way to the library after their History of Magic class when things started to go awry. History was their last class of the day, meaning that Betty and Jughead were free to do as they pleased for the rest of the week ahead. Arm in arm, they were almost skipping down the hall together, excitedly talking about all the things they were going to do while the rest of the student body was gone. 

“Jughead, do you really think that staying in the kitchens for an entire twenty-four hours will be that much fun?” Betty asked, genuinely curious. 

“I think so, yeah,” he replied with a smile. “I mean… think of all the food!” Betty had to laugh at that one, shaking her head just and Jughead spotted Reggie, Moose, and Mad Dog walking in the opposite direction of them. He tried to ignore the three teenagers, but they looked absurdly angry. 

“I mean, you can only taste-test so many types of cake before y--EEP!” Betty exclaimed. Jughead looked over, seeing Reggie Mantle’s large hand grabbing Betty’s bicep and tearing her away from him. “JUGHEAD!” she screamed, fighting Reggie’s tight grip. 

Before he could think, Jughead spun around, taking hold of Betty’s hand. She grabbed back, sinking her nails into the flesh of his hand because she was holding onto him so tightly. With a solid yank, Betty spun back into Jughead’s arms. The blonde clung to him immediately as Reggie turned around, obviously offended. Both teenagers reached for their wands, pointing them at each other. 

The entire hall came to a halt as a path cleared between Reggie and Jughead, spectators running from the middle of the floor. 

“Betty,” Jughead muttered carefully to the girl stuck to his side. “Get behind me.” 

“Jug--” 

“Do it, Betty,” he whispered sternly. She did as he instructed, letting go and standing behind him anxiously. 

“This has gone on long enough, Jones!” Reggie shouted over the whispers of the crowd. “Give her to me.” 

“She’s not mine to give, Mantle,” Jughead replied, refusing to lower his wand. “If Cooper wants to go to you, then that’s fine, but there’s no way I’d hand her over like an object to be traded.” 

“When, oh when will you learn that you’re nothing more than the scum on the bottom of your father’s boot?” Reggie chided, trying to get a reaction out of Jughead. He knew better than to engage with that, but he could feel Betty simmering in her own anger behind him. “She doesn’t want you, Jones. Give it up.” 

“No,” Jughead replied. “She doesn’t want  _ you, _ Mantle. And she doesn’t  _ need _ anyone, either.” 

“Last chance, Jones,” Reggie said seriously, unwavering. “Hand her over before you regret it for the rest of your miserable Serpent scum life.” 

“I will not,” he stated strongly. 

The rest happened so quickly that Jughead could only see it happen slowly. As Reggie began to flick his wand, Jughead prepared to block, but felt Betty shove him to the ground and step in front of him. 

“NO!” Betty yelled, putting a hand out to stop Reggie… but she was too late.

When Jughead looked up, Betty had gotten hit with whatever hex had been meant for him, the beam of white light encapsulating her body. Jughead watched as her limbs snapped together, then Betty fell to the ground on her back. 

“No,” he whispered to himself, scrambling over to the blonde. Jughead crouched over her, seeing that Betty’s entire body was frozen, but her eyes were darting around nervously.  _ Full body bind curse, _ Jughead thought. “Betty?” he asked. When she didn’t respond, Jughead felt anger rise in his chest, consuming his entire being. Lowering his eyebrows, Jughead looked at Reggie Mantle, who was shocked that he missed. 

“You just messed with the wrong Jones,” Jughead growled loud enough for Reggie to hear.  _ “Expelliarmus!” _ Jughead shouted, the red beam of light making Reggie’s wand shoot out of his hand. His spell was so powerful that Reggie’s wand hit the far wall, snapping in two pieces.  _ “Stupefy!” _ he screamed, the stunning spell knocking not only Reggie, but Mad Dog and Moose, to the floor as well. When they caught themselves, the three teenagers scrambled to get up and away as best as they could, stumbling down a different hallway. 

Once they were gone, Jughead turned back to Betty, sliding to the ground next to her. 

“Betty?” he asked. Her eyes locked with his, but her body was still. “I’m going to get you out of this, okay?” He raised his wand to cast the countercurse, but he halted almost immediately. 

“STOP!” Jughead heard Professor McGonagall shout, running towards him with Archie, Cheryl, Veronica, and Toni behind her. They all huddled around Jughead and Betty, the Headmistress finding the Ravenclaw quickly. “Not here, Mr. Jones,” she said calmly. “It’s best if we let Madam Pomfrey fix this.” 

“But, Professor--“ 

“Not now, Mr. Jones. I understand your concern for Ms. Cooper, but Madam Pomfrey is well equipped to handle this problem,” Professor McGonagall interrupted. “Now, if you and Mr. Andrews would carry Ms. Cooper to the infirmary it would be much appreciated. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind two of her friends helping us out in that respect.” 

From there, Archie and Jughead carried Betty’s frozen body up to the infirmary as they followed behind Professor McGonagall, Cheryl, Toni, and Veronica trailing behind them. Usually, Madam Pomfrey wouldn’t have allowed so many students to accompany Betty, but she knew that it wouldn’t take long (and McGonagall insisted that she let all of them stay). 

While Jughead stayed by Betty’s bedside, Archie, Toni, Veronica, and Cheryl remained a few steps away. After Madam Pomfrey administered the correct remedy, it took a minute for Betty to regain control of her body again. Her head and neck came back first. 

“Jughead,” she muttered, blinking slowly and turning her head towards him, evidently exhausted. 

“Yeah, Betty? I’m right here,” he assured her, taking her hand even though she didn’t have any feeling in it yet. 

“Only you would pick a fight with Reggie Mantle to the point where it ends up in a duel,” she whispered, smiling coyly. 

“Well, Cooper, only you would jump in front of said duel to save me from being full-body binded,” Jughead replied. Betty rolled her eyes, knowing he was right. It was then that she could squeeze Jughead’s hand. 

“Touché, Jones,” Betty whispered. “I guess you were right about the Gryffindor in me after all.” 

“Why’d you do it?” he blurted, unable to stop the words from rolling off his tongue. 

“I’d do anything for the guy who’d stand up to his lifetime bully for me,” Betty replied earnestly, smiling up at him. 

“Okay, Jones, I think you’ve had enough time with her for now,” Veronica Lodge said from behind him, pulling Jughead away from Betty’s beside by his shoulder so she and Cheryl could talk to her. He chuckled, but stepped away, standing next to Archie. 

“Nice job snapping Reggie’s wand,” Archie commended. “He’s my housemate but he’s not worth a galleon.” 

“You heard that?” Jughead asked. 

“The wand snap heard ‘round the world,” Archie replied. “McGonagall said you’re probably not going to get in trouble for this since you were defending Betty and yourself, but Reggie’s going to get slammed for unauthorized duelling.” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah. I mean, you could’ve cast a curse on Reggie, but you didn’t, not the way he did to Betty, even though it was aimed at you,” he explained. “You cast defensive spells - effective, but mostly harmless.”

“Except to his wand,” Jughead joked. 

“Right.” There was a pregnant pause between the two before Archie spoke up again. “Hey, Jug… listen… I just wanted to let you know that I’m kind of… uh…  _ dating _ Veronica.” 

Jughead’s eyes went wide as he looked at the redhead. “Really now?” 

“Yeah,” he replied. “It’s been a few weeks, but Veronica’s telling Betty right now, so I figured I’d tell you too.” 

“That’s great, man,” Jughead said, clapping Archie on the shoulder. “I’m happy for you.” 

“Thanks. I really like her.” 

_ Oh, Archie. Ever the puppy dog, _ Jughead thought to himself. “I’d hope so, dude.” 

“Speaking of people we’re dating,” Toni butted in from Jughead’s other side. “Cheryl and I are on the down low right now… Her parents don’t really support her sexuality, but… we’re happy.” Toni smiled up at one of her oldest friends. 

“I’m glad to hear that, T,” Jughead said. “You deserve it.” 

“Thanks, Jug,” she replied. “Cheryl is  _ also _ letting Betty know right now, so I figured now was the time to tell you, too.” 

“I’m happy for both of you, seriously,” Jughead told them, looking between the built Gryffindor and the petite Ravenclaw. 

“Now…” Toni began. “When were you planning on telling us about you and Betty?” 

“I wasn’t,” Jughead replied through gritted teeth. “Because there’s nothing going on there.” 

“C’mon, Jug,” Archie chided. “You can tell us. Out with it.” 

“There’s nothing to tell.” 

“Please?” Toni asked. “We’ll--” 

“We’re going to miss the train if we don’t go now, Archiekins,” Veronica told Archie, Cheryl taking Toni’s hand on Jughead’s other side. 

“We’re all going to miss the train if we don’t go now,” Cheryl corrected, looking to Toni. 

After exchanging pleasantries, Archie, Veronica, Toni, and Cheryl left to pack their bags and leave Hogwarts for the weekend. Not long after they left, Betty was cleared to go by Madam Pomfrey. Professor McGonagall offered to send an owl about what happened to the Coopers for Betty but she quickly declined, opting to leave with Jughead instead. 

“Be careful, Miss Cooper,” Professor McGonagall told Betty just before they left. “Take care of yourself. That goes for you too, Mr. Jones.” 

“Thank you, Professor,” Betty replied. “We will.” Jughead smiled in response, looking at Betty. 

_ We, _ he thought.  _ I could get used to that. _

As they left, Betty laced her arm around Jughead’s back, pulling herself into his side. After grinning like a fool, Jughead slung his arm over her shoulders, keeping her there. 

While the rest of the school was packing their things and heading towards the Hogwarts Express, Betty and Jughead hid away in the Room of Requirement. The blonde was annoyed at Jughead whole they were there because he insisted on making her comfortable. 

“I’m not a china doll, Jug!” She’d laughed and squealed when Jughead nearly swaddled her with blankets. He had to stop was he was doing, succumbing to his own laughter and amusement, falling to the ground next to her. They laughed for ages about that, Jughead almost rolling on the floor while Betty sat in her bundle of blankets, angry but seeing the humor it it. 

When it came time for dinner, Jughead and Betty ate together in the near-empty Great Hall, not worried about any Gryffindor bullies coming along to interrupt them. Their conversation had stilled to a comfortable silence when Betty spoke up abruptly. 

“You know what I’ve always wanted to see?” Betty asked him. Jughead, caught off guard, had to take a second to rebound. 

“No, what?” He replied. 

“Ever since I was a hatstall in my first year, I’ve wanted to see the other common rooms that I’ve missed out on,” she explained. “I live in Gryffindor, Cheryl and Veronica have let me visit Slytherin a few times even though I wasn’t considered for that house, and Kevin and Josie once gave me a tour of Hufflepuff… but I’ve never seen Ravenclaw.” Betty put her fork down, looking at Jughead with a smile on her face. 

That was the smile Betty knew he couldn’t resist. 

“Well,” Jughead began, “I guess I could… give you a tour, show you what you could’ve gotten had you been sorted a Ravenclaw.” 

Betty grinned even wider while Jughead kept eating. 

“Oh, you meant now?” Jughead asked, a spoonful of mashed potatoes in his mouth. 

“Yeah,” she replied, getting up and going around the end of the table. Betty grabbed Jughead by the wrist, pulling him up and towards the exit. He tripped over his own feet but managed to catch his balance. 

Eventually, Jughead had managed to grab Betty’s hand, interlocking their fingers and leading her up staircase after staircase. They giggled like idiots, as if they were doing something they could get in trouble for, even though they weren’t technically breaking any rules (besides maybe running in the halls). 

When they got to the staircase that would lead them to Ravenclaw Tower, Jughead made sure Betty was quiet so that the knocker wouldn’t sense her. They arrived at the door, Betty cowering behind Jughead, trying not to be seen. The knocker asked Jughead a riddle and he replied with the proper answer, causing the door to swing open. 

Jughead tugged them both inside, causing Betty to giggle when the door closed behind them. When she looked around, Betty froze, taking in the common room. Jughead smirked at the sight of her dropped jaw, the Gryffindor taking in the room that he’d gotten used to over the years. 

He tried to imagine seeing the room like he did their first night at Hogwarts. Standing in the middle of the blue-carpeted room was a bronze statue of Rowena Ravenclaw mounted on a marble pedestal. Decorating every wall was a ten foot tall bookcase, a mahogany rolling ladder attached to each of them so that students could reach the top shelves. On the wall opposite the entrance were the two staircases that led students to their dormitories, white marble with royal blue carpetingOn the left rounded wall was a window that stretched to the ceiling, giving the students a clear view to the Scottish Highlands outside, the Black Lake, and the sky above. The ceiling was painted a navy blue, constellations littering across it. Each of the walls had white marble accents and rich blue drapes with bronze detailing. On the right rounded wall was a bookcase with a cove to the side, a fireplace and a blue and bronze armchair. 

“That’s my favorite reading chair,” Jughead told Betty when she spotted the small cove. 

“Do you kick the first years out of it?” Betty joked, smiling up at him. 

“Don’t need to,” he replied. “They avoid it because they know it’s mine.” 

“You guys sure have a lot of books up here,” she said. 

“The more to distract ourselves from our homework with needless research, Betty,” Jughead joked. 

“Ooh! I wanna see your room!” 

Jughead’s eyes widened, as he was surprised by her request, but he decided to indulge her, taking her hand and leading her up the blue carpeted stairs. They climbed all the way up to the  **Sixth Years** door and Jughead opened it, letting Betty in first. 

“It’s nice,” she told him. Jughead smiled at that. He’d gotten used to the circular room with five four-post beds, each with dark blue curtains, bright white sheets, and royal blue quilts. 

As it had gotten dark outside, Jughead walked over to his desk, lighting a few candles he knew to be on his desk and turning on the various gas lamps around the room, too. Betty smiled softly at the glow the lights gave the room, sitting down on the edge of Jughead’s bed. 

“Hey, this feels softer than mine,” she teased. “That’s not fair.” Jughead smiled, sitting down next to her. 

“Then I guess it’s unfortunate that you’re not in this House,” he joked, earning a punch to the shoulder. Jughead caught her arm, pulling her in and wrapping his arms around her shoulders, effectively trapping her. 

“Jug!” she squealed, her face pressed in his chest. “Let me go!” 

“Not until you apologize, Coop,” Jughead replied. She continued to struggle against him, but his arms were just too big in comparison to Betty’s small frame. Eventually, she stilled, sighing. 

“I’m sorry,” she groaned into his chest. 

“Fair enough,” Jughead laughed, letting go. Betty sat up again, smiling and giggling. 

Eventually, the pair ended up laying side by side on top of Jughead’s bed, each of their hands folded on top of their abdomens. What had once been a gleeful event became reminiscent of home… and it all started when Betty asked what the Scottish Highlands were like. 

“Well, it was cold, for one,” Jughead began. “Definitely colder than Oxford.” 

“What town did you live close to?” Betty asked softly. 

“Between Edinburgh and Glasgow,” Jughead replied. “Here at Hogwarts, as you know, the closest Muggle town is Inverness, which is very small, but Edinburgh is quite large in comparison… Where I used to live, before my mom stood up to my dad, was in an all-wizard trailer park almost equidistant from Glasgow and Edinburgh. We were right in the middle of the two.” 

When he paused, Jughead felt Betty’s head turn to look at him, even though his eyes were still locked on the ceiling. 

“Living in that trailer was the worst few years of my life,” Jughead whispered. “A deadbeat dad that everyone thinks is a Deatheater… really, he’s just a bum, nothing like a Deatheater… but I’d go outside sometimes, just to take a walk and get away from it all… Often, I’d take Jelly with me. You’ve met her, right?” Jughead asked. 

“Yes,” Betty replied in a whisper. “She’s a very energetic Gryffindor.” 

“Sounds right,” Jughead replied with a chuckle. “From November to March there’d at least be an inch of snow on the ground, so Jelly and I would walk around - away from the trailer park - and take in the peace of it all… I remember the way it would smell like fresh pine in October when you were on the edge of one of the forests. Jellybean always wanted to go in and find a unicorn, but I never let her because I didn’t want us to get lost. And we were so close to Muggle populations that I figured one wouldn’t dare come close and risk getting hunted for sport.” Betty chuckled lightly at his joke. 

“What’s your favorite memory from when you were in Scotland?” Betty asked softly. Jughead turned to face her for a moment. 

“You really want to see Scotland, huh?” 

“My parents purposely make no connections in Scotland,” Betty explained. “They’d never figure out if I was hiding out there.” Jughead didn’t know what to say to that - he was speechless. “I’m sorry,” she said, averting her eyes from his. “I didn’t mean to--” 

“No, Betty,” Jughead interrupted, finally finding his words. “I’m just… sorry that you’d ever have to worry about something like that.” Betty gave him a troubled smile in return. “My favorite memory of Scotland, you say?” Jughead asked, turning their conversation back to the right path and looking back at the ceiling. “Well… before my family lost the small castle I used to call home in Edinburgh, I’d wake up early to watch the sunrise. Gargoyles, Betty it was magnificent, seeing the colors blend together in the mountains… then, at 7:30 exactly, there was a person that would play the bagpipes, signaling that the sun was up or whatever… but I just remember how peaceful it all was, on the balcony of my old room, hearing the bagpipes every morning.” 

“That’s beautiful, Jughead,” Betty whispered, sniffling and placing one of her hands on top of Jughead’s joined ones. He turned his head to face her once again, seeing the silent tears that had rolled down her face. “You deserve better than what you were dealt by the world.” 

“Oh, stop it,” Jughead replied softly, moving one of his hands on top of hers. “Tell me about London.” 

“You and I know damn well you’ve been to London,” Betty stated. 

“I want to know, from  _ your _ perspective, what it’s like to live there,” Jughead insisted. Betty rolled her eyes good-naturedly. It was Betty’s turn to stare at the ceiling and Jughead’s turn to watch her. 

“Well, for starters, it’s busy. All the time. It’s almost always cloudy from all of the smog, but… it’s a beautiful city,” Betty said. “There’s a lot to do, and a lot of tourists, mostly Americans, but others as well. The food is pretty good as well, but my favorite part is all of the Muggle museums.” Jughead watched Betty’s eyes light up as she spoke. “They have so much history, just like our world does, and it’s so much different. They have different mannerisms and ways of determining class and social standing.” 

“You seem a bit infatuated with Muggles for a pureblood, Cooper,” Jughead interrupted quietly. 

“And maybe that’s why I’m so curious about their ways of life,” Betty replied. “They play this sport almost like quidditch, but it’s called  _ soccer _ and I don’t understand it at all. You’re, like, not supposed to touch the ball with your hands?” Jughead laughed, making Betty giggle in response. “And they’ve got these Muggles that they regard as higher than the rest of them - the royal family. Way back in Muggle history, these people considered themselves chosen by God to rule countries, then when that person dies it goes to their firstborn. The Muggles are infatuated by those people - they’ve got a palace in the middle of London that’s thrice the size of Cooper Manor all because their ancestors were  _ also _ the rulers of the United Kingdom. Isn’t that crazy?” 

“I mean, I guess,” Jughead replied. “They’re just normal people, right? But there’s some sort of allure, I guess, into the inner workings of the family because they’re descendants of rulers and some are future rulers… Sounds like pure Muggle culture right there.” 

“Just wait until I tell you about the London Underground.” 

**\---**

Jughead slowly came to, realizing he was still in his own bed. When he opened his eyes, he saw Betty was still there too, cuddled into his side innocently, her ear pressed to his chest. It felt the same as when they’d fallen asleep together in the Room of Requirement, only one of Betty’s legs was wrapped around one of Jughead’s. 

He did a double take at that. 

They’d never been so close together, and now Betty was almost on top of him. He shifted a little at the surprise, then he felt Betty wake too. She hummed softly, pulling her leg back to her own side as she sat up, looking down at him. 

Betty was smiling softly, her eyes still adjusting from when she was asleep. Her ponytail had frayed and slipped down a little, definitely messier than it usually was. Even though she sat up, Jughead didn’t retract the hand that had been holding her to his chest, instead using that hand to draw patterns on her wrist. 

“Hi,” she giggled. 

“Hey,” Jughead replied. 

“I think I should get going back to Gryffindor,” Betty sighed. Jughead looked over at his clock. It was almost midnight. 

“I think it’s a little too late for that, Betts.” He pointed to his alarm clock on his desk and Betty’s eyes followed his finger, seeing the time. 

“Dragon bogies,” she muttered. “I’m going to be in so much trouble with the Fat Lady if I go back now, not to mention if I get caught on my way back.” Even though it was Easter break, the basic rules still applied at Hogwarts. 

“Then just… stay here,” Jughead suggested. “I mean, if you want--” 

“Really?” Betty asked. “You’d let me do that?” 

“Of course.” Jughead sat up, sitting at eye level with her. “I can led you some clothes, you can use our shower… knock yourself out.” 

“Okay,” she agreed. “I’ll stay… Just as long as I don’t have to sleep in Dilton Doiley’s bed.” 

“You could sleep in Ben’s--” 

“I’m not a fan of that either.” 

“Well if you’re going to be so picky, you can sleep in my bed with me,” Jughead stated. “Unless you’ve got an objection to that, too.” 

“No, I think I’m most comfortable with that option,” she said. 

“Okay, well, I think you should get the first shower and I’ll lay you out a set of clothes for you to sleep in,” Jughead suggested. “While you change out here, I’ll shower and change in the bathroom.” 

“Good plan, Jones,” Betty said. “I’ll get started, then.” 

They stood up at the same time, but Jughead told her to wait a moment. A second later, Jughead handed Betty an extra set of towels to use. She thanked him, then retreated into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. 

In the ten minutes that it took Betty to shower, Jughead set out a navy Ravenclaw quidditch t-shirt, a pair of light grey sweatpants that he’d grown out of, and a pair of socks littered with small slices of pizza for her to sleep in. Realizing she might be cold, he also laid out a Three Broomsticks sweatshirt he’d purchased in his fourth year. 

Just as he finished, the door to the bathroom opened, revealing Betty Cooper wrapped in a bath towel. Her blonde hair was still wet from the shower, but she still looked as beautiful as ever. Before he could gawk at her for too long, they traded places after Jughead took out his own pajamas, closing the bathroom door behind him. 

Needless to say, Jughead hadn’t ever thought of women like he started thinking about Betty while he was in the shower. He’d just seen her in less clothing than he’d ever seen her before and he wouldn’t say that he wasn’t surprised at how good her legs looked without anything on them. Ideas that had never crossed his mind before made their way into his thoughts as he showered. 

Jughead hadn’t even gotten a taste of Betty Cooper, yet he decided that he wanted all of her. He wanted her body under his while his hands discovered how soft her skin was. He wanted his lips all over her body, and he wanted her lips all over him, too. He wanted to know what she felt like, what she tasted like, what she sounded like… 

He had to turn the shower cold… and when that didn’t work, he took matters into his own hands (literally). 

Ten minutes later, Jughead stepped out of the bathroom, his dark hair damp yet still a mess, clad in a pair of flannel pants and an S t-shirt. He looked up to see Betty sitting on his bed with one of the books he knew had been on his desk. 

“Bored, are we?” he asked. 

Betty was stunning. Her hair was down in gentle blonde curls as she sat there wearing his clothes. Jughead felt a small bout of possessiveness rise in his chest and she smiled. He liked how he felt when he saw her wearing his Ravenclaw t-shirt. She looked up at him, her green eyes lighting up as she smiled. 

“No, just curious,” she replied, closing the book and showing him the cover.  _ Beloved _ by Toni Morrison. “This one looked pretty good from how worn it was when it was sitting on your desk.” 

“You can borrow it if you want,” Jughead said, sitting next to her on his bed. 

“Really?” 

“Yeah. Just be careful with it - I got it for my thirteenth birthday.” 

“Thank you.” Out of the blue, Betty hugged him, the book still clasped in her hand. Jughead returned it happily, looking down at her happy face and closed eyes. 

Betty really was like lightning in a bottle, and now that he had her so close he knew he would never let her go. 

_ Tomorrow, _ he decided, not wanting to ruin this happy moment.  _ Tomorrow I’ll tell her how I feel about her. _

**\---**

Jughead woke to sunlight flooding through his room’s blue curtains and to Betty shifting in her sleep. When she was satisfied with how she’d moved, she stilled again, continuing to sleep. Jughead opened his eyes, seeing her next to him. 

Betty’s face was nuzzled into his chest, one of her hands balled into a tight fist that held the fabric of his t-shirt. Her entire body was leaning against his, one of her legs almost hooked all the way across his hips, her other leg flush against his closest one. The center of Betty’s waist pressed against one of his hip bones… and his hand rested on the soft skin of her side, the t-shirt having ridden up overnight. His other arm reached across his own body, taking gentle hold of Betty’s shoulder. He ran his thumb against her t-shirt covered shoulder slowly. 

As Jughead felt the gentle rise and fall of Betty’s chest and her soft exhales hitting his neck, he knew then that Betty was the one for him. She was soft where he was stony, her heart was large where his mind was strong. He couldn’t think of anyone better for him than stunning, kind Betty Cooper. 

_ If only she’d have me, _ he thought to himself, glancing over at his desk. There, he saw their wands sitting together, side by side. Her alder wood and phoenix feather right next to his ebony and dragon heartstring. Behind them was the book he was letting her borrow, the worn paperback cover making him smile. He knew he probably wouldn’t be getting that book back for a while. 

Softly, Jughead let his fingers drag carefully across her smooth side, drawing gentle patterns on her skin. He looked down at Betty, her beautiful golden curls dress across his chest. His nose was ever so close to the top of her head when he inhaled slowly. 

_ She smells like me, _ he thought, smirking.  _ Like pine… but she still smells like lavender too. _

Betty shifted again, sighing as she held his shirt a little tighter in her hand. It was then that Jughead remembered how he had transfigured his bed so it would be more comfortable for two people to sleep in. Even with his bed being nearly double the size it had been before, Betty had still chosen to cuddle up to him in her sleep, their legs tangled under his sheets. 

Jughead blushed at that thought, his ears burning at the idea. He continued to let his fingers play with her skin gently. He was content with just holding her close - she deserved her sleep. 

When Betty’s fist opened and smoothed against his chest, Jughead knew she was awake. His hand stilled and his heart stopped for a moment… until her head tilted up, her green eyes meeting his. 

She was smiling sleepily. 

“Good morning,” she greeted, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink as she stopped herself from giggling. 

“Good morning,” he replied. In a fit of bravery, he rolled Betty onto her back, coming up to hover over her with his hand still right above her hip. She smirked as he did it, biting her bottom lip. Just before Jughead could settle, however, he faltered. He grasped for balance, both of his knees clumsily finding their way between hers. Betty helped catch him, her hands shooting to his sides as he found his balance again. 

When they stopped moving, they stared at each other for a moment before bursting into quiet laughter. Jughead noticed how the skin around Betty’s eyes crinkled when she smiled so hard, her heavenly laughter filling the room. He noticed as they laughed that his forearms were bracketing her head on either side, their faces closer than ever before. 

“Sorry,” he chuckled when their laughter died down into bright smiles. “I seem to have lost my coordination, being with you.” Jughead didn’t notice how bold his statement was until after it came out of his mouth. He was easily distracted, however, by the feeling of Betty’s hands searing through his S t-shirt. Her everlasting warmth was lighting his skin on fire, but she probably knew that. He noticed her slacked jaw…  _ he’d made her speechless for once.  _

“It’s okay,” she replied softly, her green eyes raking over his body, then up to his face. 

Their faces were inches apart and Jughead found it hard to breathe. It was evident that Betty was finding it hard to speak as her lips tried and failed to form words. Her eyes were wide as their pupils seared into each other. A few shallow breaths were passed back and forth between them and Jughead found himself involuntarily shifting his hips against her for a more stable positioning. She found the strength to swallow harshly, keeping her eyes on his as a small noise escaped her. 

Jughead felt himself being pulled closer to her, almost like two magnets are attracted to each other. He felt her soft hand trailing up his chest and finding a hold on the side and back of his neck while he was being drawn closer. He got one more glimpse of her beautiful green eyes before his eyelids fluttered closed and his lips were on hers ever so gently. 

It was more than Jughead could have ever dreamed of. Betty’s lips were soft and warm; comforting. One of Jughead’s hands came to cup her cheek lightly as he let go, but Betty dove in for one more, her grip on his neck keeping him close. 

When they both pulled away, Jughead swore Betty had stars in her eyes as her head pressed into his pillow, golden hair splaying out across the pillowcase. 

“Wow,” he breathed stupidly, unable to look anywhere else but her blush-covered face. 

“I think I’m in love with you,” Betty whispered as she looked directly into his eyes. 

Jughead felt like he’d just been hit in the back of the head with a stunning spell (or a frying pan). When he didn’t reply fast enough, because he didn’t know what to say, she looked away sadly. 

“I’m sorry, maybe I should go.” 

Jughead’s mind kicked back into gear when she tried to get up. 

“No, no, no,” he insisted, pushing her back into his mattress as soft as he could. “I’m sorry, my mind went blank… I didn’t know what to say, just… give me a second?” 

“If you’re going to try and let me down easy, just go ahead--” 

“No, not at all,” Jughead interrupted, hurt that she would think he didn’t want her. Betty stopped in her tracks. “I’m just stunned that it didn’t slip out of my mouth first.” She looked up at him curiously. “I think I’m in love with you, too, Betty Cooper.” 

She smiled brighter and Jughead had ever seen her smile before, pulling him down by the neck to hug him. Jughead collapsed on top of her with a chuckle, wrapping his arms under her body in return. He pressed a small kiss to her shoulder. 

“You know, I was going to ask you out in the Room of Requirement that day that you pushed me away,” Betty admitted. Jughead’s eyes snapped open. “And I turned down all of those guys last semester because I was waiting to work up the courage to ask  _ you _ out.” Shocked, Jughead broke out of her hold to prop himself on his forearms again. “I thought I was obvious--” 

“No you didn’t,” he replied in disbelief, a smile on his face. 

_ “Yes, _ I did, Juggie,” she stated, both of her hands moving up to hold the sides of his neck. Her thumbs pressed into his jaw ever so slightly. “I was afraid of ruining what we had as friends, especially after the first time I almost asked you out…” 

Jughead was stunned. He didn’t believe all of that was really coming out of her mouth, but he wasn’t complaining. 

“Well, Betty,” he began softly, making her smile under him. “I think it’s obvious to me that you should be my girlfriend… so long as you’ll call me your boyf--” 

“Just shut up and kiss me again,” Betty whispered, pulling his face back to hers. 

Their lips met roughly as Jughead let his body hover closer to Betty’s. His hands moved to hold her hips when Betty’s fingers toyed with his hair. He groaned into her mouth as she let his tongue slide against hers. 

They couldn’t get enough of each other now, the push and pull consuming them as they kept going in for more. Kissing Betty Cooper was the best thing Jughead had ever done, he realized when she sighed against his lips. Her hands moved out of his hair, trailing down to the hem of his shirt. They stopped together, understanding the implications of what that meant. 

“Betty, we don’t have to--” 

“I want to,” she interrupted. “As long as you do, of course.” 

“Are you sure?” he asked one more time. 

“Juggie, I don’t care who you are or where you come from,” she began, looking directly into his eyes. “All I know is that I want you… right now.” 

“I think we’ve waited long enough,” Jughead replied, kissing her soundly and pressing her hands against his t-shirt. 

When he let go, she pulled it off, making Jughead let go of her lips to get it away. Jughead balled up the shirt in his hand, throwing it across the room. Betty giggled when he went in for more, tugging at the t-shirt he’d loaned her. He pulled away once more to tug the shirt over her head. She blushed when he tossed it away from them, and Jughead paused. 

Betty was gorgeous, still covered by a light pink lace bra that contrasted beautifully with her pale skin. 

“What?” she asked when he paused, her fingers tracing the light, corded muscle on his front. 

“You’re incredible, Cooper,” he whispered huskily, lowering his lips to her neck. He began kissing her skin, biting lightly then soothing it with his tongue. She was a whimpering mess, her hands running through his dark hair greedily. 

“Juggie,” she sighed, closing her eyes.  _ “Yes.” _ He placed open-mouthed kisses to her jaw, then down her neck and on her chest. “I love you,” she said breathily. 

“I love you too,” he replied against her collarbone, running his tongue across it. Betty’s arm went around his shoulders, hugging him closer to her with a sigh. As he continued his ministrations, Jughead felt Betty press a kiss to his temple breathily. 

“More,” she whispered in his ear. “Please.” 

Ever eager to please her, Jughead reached behind Betty’s back, somehow unclasping her bra on the first try (he truly shocked himself). She gasped when she realized what he’d done, but let him pull away to remove the article. Jughead sat up a little, pulling the bra straps away. Tossing the garment somewhere, Jughead didn’t take his eyes off of Betty. He got a quick glimpse before Betty shyly crossed her arms in front of her bare chest. 

“Hey,” he said softly, leaning down to press a soft kiss to her cheek as he stroked her arm. “It’s okay, Betts.” 

“I’m just nervous,” she whispered. Jughead sat on his heels, pulling Betty to sit up with him. 

“Don’t be nervous,” he replied, both of his hands taking hold of her forearms. “You’re incredible, Betty… and you’re beautiful.” Jughead tucked a blonde curl behind her ear. “Nothing will ever change my mind, okay?” 

After a moment, Betty nodded silently and Jughead helped her drop her arms to her sides. 

“I just thought I wasn’t that impressi--” 

Jughead cut her off with a solid kiss to her lips, his hands cupping her face and keeping her there. He pulled away with a pop, not dropping his hold on her when he gazed into her eyes. 

“What, you thought you weren’t going to impress me, Betty?” Jughead asked softly, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. She bobbed her head slowly. “Everything you do impresses me, Coop. You’re beautiful. Gorgeous. Stunning.” 

Betty surged forward, slamming her lips to Jughead’s sweetly. She smiled into it, giggling a little as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Jughead smiled back, his palms pressing into her bare back. He took advantage of his reach, trying to explore her smooth skin that he’d exposed. Betty must have liked it because she pressed her chest into his, making him groan softly. 

Jughead pushed them back down so that Betty was laying back on the mattress again, their lips still attached. He pulled away once he was sure Betty’s head was on his pillow, ducking his head down to leave a trail of kisses down her chest. 

Betty was perfection, Jughead thought as he attached his lips where she wanted them. While she wiggled and moaned under his mouth and touch, Jughead continued to worship her body for all that he believed it was worth. After a while of teasing one side, he switched, making her yelp in surprise when his hot mouth attacked her supple skin. 

“Juggie,” she whined, her hands running through his hair liberally. “Please.” 

“Please, what?” he asked, looking up as he kissed the valley between her breasts. “What do you want from me, Betty?” 

“I--” 

“Here?” Jughead asked, bravely cupping her over her sweatpants. One of his fingers pressed against her ever so slightly, making her whimper. 

“Right there,” she replied breathily, pressing herself into his palm. “Please.” 

Before he knew it, Jughead had taken off Betty’s pants and underwear and his mouth was on her center. Betty’s body contorted above him, one of her hands sunken into his dark locks. With every flick of his tongue, she was closer to the release she chased so eagerly. Her hips kept canting up to his mouth, her legs thrown over his shoulders. Jughead savored her like she was the last piece of bacon at breakfast. He was taking his time, but Betty was a little more impatient, wanting to reach her climax. 

Jughead gave in to her wishes and breathy moans, making her come by stroking her insides with his tongue. It was like lightning, watching Betty’s body spasm with the waves of her orgasm. When it was over, she laid still, trying to catch her breath. Jughead climbed up to her, wiping his mouth with his wrist. 

“Fuck, Jughead,” she whispered, locking eyes with him. Betty grabbed him by the face, kissing the life out of him. Jughead wrapped his arms around her back, letting her taste herself on her tongue. 

“Where did pureblood Elizabeth Cooper learn those Muggle swears?” Jughead joked. 

“Moose is a Muggleborn and curses when he hits a bludger too hard, but that’s besides the point,” Betty panted. “How are you so good at that?” 

“I don’t know, I haven’t done that before,” he chuckled, leaning back in to kiss her again. 

“It’s your appetite, probably,” Betty joked, kissing him with a grin on her face. She reached down to the waistband of his flannel pants and Jughead stilled. 

“You sure?” Jughead asked one last time. 

“I want all of you, Juggie,” Betty replied. “You’ve got all of me, don’t you?” 

Jughead took a second to think about all of the small love marks that he’d littered across her chest, then all of the ones Betty had left on him, too. 

“Cooper, you’re mine,” he growled, kissing Betty passionately as she giggled into his mouth. Her hands came up to his pants once more, pushing them down along with his boxers. Jughead helped her on her mission, wiggling his hips to get the offending material off of his body. He kicked his pants and boxers away when Betty stilled, looking down at him. One of her hands started moving down south when he grabbed her wrist. 

“Jug?” she asked curiously. 

“Not today, Betts,” he whispered. 

“But I want to make you feel good, too,” she replied. 

“I think you’ll be doing enough of that today,” Jughead told her, kissing her forehead gently. “Just trust me, okay?” Betty nodded, keeping her eyes locked on his. 

“Oh, wait!” she said suddenly, reaching over to Jughead’s desk. She grabbed her wand, positioning it just over her lower abdomen. Pressing it into her skin, she muttered an incantation and sighed at the sensation before placing it back on his desk. “Okay, we’re good now.” 

“What was that?” Jughead asked. 

“Contraceptive charm,” she replied. “I didn’t realize how warm it would make me feel,” Betty giggled shyly, blushing a little. Jughead smiled at how happy she was. 

“Well, in that case…” Jughead positioned himself at her entrance, then looked up into her eyes. “Ready?” 

“Yes.” 

“Might hurt a little,” he whispered, pushing himself into her. Once he was all the way in, Jughead allowed himself to laugh softly at some of the facial expressions Betty had made as he entered her. 

“What?” 

“Your face was adorable, all scrunched up like that.” Betty’s face flushed with embarrassment at his words as she averted her eyes. Jughead pulled her back, sealing his lips against hers softly. She smiled at him when they pulled away. “How does it feel?” he asked a little more seriously. 

“Good,” she breathed, her walls instinctively fluttering around him. “Just, um…  _ move, _ I guess.” 

“Oh,” he muttered. “Okay.” 

Jughead pulled his hips back, then pushed back in again. Betty choked out a moan in response, her hands still on the sides of Jughead’s face. Seeing that everything was okay, he repeated that movement a few times, making sure to go slow. From Betty’s facial expressions, he could tell that she wasn’t in pain. 

Being inside Betty was nothing like Jughead had ever experienced before. If he thought she was soft and warm before, this was something completely new. This was a brand new experience for both of them, he realized… and that just made him want to make the most of it for both of them even more. 

“Still good?” he asked after a few more slow strokes. Betty nodded. 

“Yeah,” she said. “You can go a little faster.” 

Jughead did as she suggested, picking up the pace a little. Watching Betty’s face was everything. She’d shut her eyes in pleasure, soaking up the feeling. She’d gasp or moan when he hit a spot she liked. 

“Ohhh,” she whimpered, reaching up to bury her fingers in his hair for the umpteenth time that morning. 

“You like that?” he asked gruffly, burying his face in her neck to leave a trail of kisses along the skin there. 

“Yeah,” she sighed, biting her lip as Jughead resurfaced. “Faster, please, Juggie.” 

With a firm grip on Betty’s hips, Jughead thrust into her faster than he had before. With a moan, Betty wrapped her long, creamy legs around his waist. Jughead continued to pound into her, leaving small, sporadic kisses on Betty’s neck, face, and chest. She groaned explicatives - Muggle and magical - at his pleasuring movements as she grew closer to her second climax of the day. 

“Bloody fuck,” she moaned at the sound of their skin slapping together. “I’m close, Juggie.” He laughed softly in her ear as she held onto him for dear life. “Jesus Christ,  _ yes,” _ she moaned, her arms wrapping around Jughead’s back. Her hands trailed down, grasping his firm ass. “Harder,” she panted into his ear. 

Betty’s nails scratched at his skin, creating a gloriously painful sensation that had him fucking her roughly. His thrusts became choppy and his kisses turned sloppy and open-mouthed on her neck. 

“Just a little more,” she choked out, digging her nails into the skin on his shoulders. 

“I’m almost there, Betty,” he panted. “Fall with me.” 

Jughead’s hips snapped into Betty’s perfectly, as she moaned and writhed in pleasure. 

“Juggie--” she whimpered, her arms lacing around the back of his neck. “I need… I need you.” 

“I’m right here,” Jughead assured her, panting.  _ She needed him, _ he thought, just the idea sending him over the edge and into paradise. Betty followed right behind him with a squeak, her walls fluttering around him as Jughead collapsed on top of her. She nearly sobbed his name into his ear. 

When Jughead looked up, Betty  _ was _ crying. He slowly slid out of her, crawling up to meet her eyes. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked tenderly, cupping her face. “Are you hurt?” 

“No,” she replied tearfully, shaking her head. “I’m just so happy, Jug.” She gave him a troubled smile. “I just realized that it’s been a while since I’ve heard someone say that they loved me… That’s all.” 

Jughead pressed his lips to Betty’s softly in a very meaningful kiss. He pulled away, looking into her beautiful green eyes. 

“I do love you, Betty,” he whispered, wiping a tear from her face. “I’ve known for a while now, but… I love you. I do.” 

“I love you too,” she replied so quietly that her voice broke. Jughead laid down on her again, his head on her chest. He wrapped her small frame up in his arms as he felt Betty begin to twirl his dark hair in her fingers. 

Betty got up a minute later, saying she needed to use the bathroom, but came back immediately afterwards, tucking herself under Jughead’s body. He pulled up the covers that had almost fallen off the bed in their tryst, covering them both and keeping them in their little cocoon. 

Thirty minutes later, Jughead was propped up on his side, facing Betty. She was on her back, just looking up into his eyes as their fingers knotted together. Jughead’s other hand was playing with her blonde curls. Betty had made herself comfortable in Jughead’s bed, wrapping herself up in his sheets, their legs tangled together. 

“So I was thinking,” Jughead said, breaking the silence. “Maybe tomorrow I could take you on a date in Hogsmeade,” he suggested. “We can go to that tea shop that all of the couples go to.” 

“Madam Puddifoot’s?” Betty asked with a laugh. “I think I’d rather have a butterbeer and a burger from the Three Broomsticks, wouldn’t you?” 

“Okay, yeah,” Jughead relented. “I just wanted to do something romantic.” 

“And I appreciate that,” she added, placing her palm on his chest. “But I’d rather have the butterbeer than an overpriced cup of tea that really isn’t that great.” 

“A woman of my own heart,” Jughead whispered, leaning in to kiss her. Betty smiled when they pulled away. “By the way,” he added, grinning smugly. “I’ve got something else to add to our list of fun things to do over break.”

“And what might that be?” 

“Well… to put it bluntly… sex.” 

“Mmm, I’ll take some more of that right now,” Betty said, pulling Jughead’s face down so she could kiss him. 

“As you wish, m’lady.” 

**\---**

** _July 18th, four months later_ **

Jughead Apparated to the exact spot Betty had shown him two months before when they walked around London together. They’d been planning this day for a while, anxiously awaiting its arrival. Now that Jughead was here, he was starting to get nervous. The mansion in front of him didn’t make things any easier. 

Cooper Manor was a terrifying building to be standing in front of. From the outside, it looked like a Muggle Duke’s home, black iron fencing, the large entrance, the enormous building and gardens spread across the grounds. Jughead knew better than to be scared about approaching today of all days. Hopefully, he’d never see the Cooper patriarch or matriarch ever again. 

Their daughter, however? 

He wanted to see her every day for the rest of his life. 

It was her seventeenth birthday, meaning - in the eyes of the wizarding world - that Betty was finally an adult. It was why Jughead had Apparated to London… he was there to take Betty home with him. She was an adult, she could live on her own if she chose to (and she definitely chose to). As Betty didn’t have her Apparition license yet, Jughead was there to pick her up and take her back to Oxford. Gladys Jones had been very open to saving yet another child from parental abuse. 

When the Coopers’ gates opened, Jughead saw Caramel, Betty, and her Hogwarts trunk (she’d put a charm on it to make it hover above the ground). Her parents were at the door to their mansion, yelling at her to come back. Ignoring them, Jughead set foot inside the gates. He walked over to Betty, taking her hand as she took a final glance at the mansion she’d called home for all 17 years of her life. 

Betty looked at him when he entwined their fingers, smiling, while Caramel purred and rubbed herself against his leg. 

“Happy birthday,” he whispered. 

“Thank you,” Betty replied. “Some aren’t being so kind as to wish that same sentiment to me.” She subtly pointed towards where her parents were standing.

“ELIZABETH, IF YOU LEAVE WITH THAT JONES BOY YOU CAN KISS YOUR INHERITANCE GOODBYE, JUST LIKE YOUR BROTHER AND SISTER!” Alice screeched. Only then did Betty turn to face her parents. 

“Oh, fuck off!” Betty shouted across the grounds. Her parents looked appalled at how dirty her mouth had gotten. Jughead knew that anyone would be surprised as to how dirty her mouth could be, especially when they were in bed together. She looked back at Jughead after rolling her eyes at her parents when they told her she was a disgrace. 

“It’s just money,” she whispered to him, squeezing his hand. “They can have it. I’ve got something better.” 

“Is it me?” Jughead asked jokingly. 

“Of course it’s you,” she replied, pushing herself onto her toes to kiss him soundly, letting her parents see. She pulled back, grinning smugly. “Let’s let them really fly off their rockers with--” 

“ELIZABETH VICTORIA COOPER!” her father screamed, outraged. Betty and Jughead laughed together. 

“Your middle name is Victoria?” he asked. 

“Never mention it,” she replied. “But yes. They thought they were so  _ regal _ naming me after Queen Victoria, even though they have no sort of distant relations with anyone in the royal family.” Betty rolled her eyes again at her parents’ ridiculousness. “Anywho… I can’t wait to see Oxford.” 

Betty’s Hogwarts trunk was set back on the ground gently. She waved her wand and it shrunk enough to fit in her pocket. She then scooped up Caramel in one arm, keeping her hand in Jughead’s. 

“I can’t wait for you to see Oxford, too,” he replied. “Ready to go?” 

“Absolutely,” she stated as Alice and Hal started running in their direction. “Get me out of this madhouse.” 

“Aye aye.” 

With a smug smirk towards the Coopers, Jughead Apparated with a  _ pop, _ dragging Betty and Caramel along. With another  _ pop _ they landed on the Jones’ front lawn. Betty stumbled a little, but Jughead helped her catch her balance. 

When Betty saw the two-story, (four bedroom, three bathroom) suburban house and the mailbox on the edge of the road painted with the Jones name on it, she couldn’t help but smile. Betty set Caramel down on the ground. When she stood up again, Jughead wrapped his arms around her from behind. 

“Welcome home, Betty.” 

“I have a feeling I’m going to like it here,” she said as Jughead led her up the house’s front steps and opened the front door for her. 

** _fin._ **


End file.
